Rose's Return
by SeeSkiesOf2955C
Summary: Rose Tyler has found a way to return to her universe. She promised herself that she wouldn't go looking for The Doctor. She never expected to run into him the very day she returned. Now she's been invited to travel with him again. There's just one teensy little problem. He doesn't know that it's her. Back in Pete's World Rose regenerated. Somehow she's been turned into a Time Lady.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The doctor was going to die. He knew that and so did his TARDIS. That didn't meant that the ship wanted to be sent away any more than Rose did. The TARDIS knew that The Doctor loved Rose. That was why he'd sent her away. So she'd be safe. He hadn't dared to hope that she returned these feelings. Of course Rose loved the Doctor. Just as much as he loved her. That was why she fought so hard to get back to him.

How could she have known that looking into the heart of the TARDIS would kill her?

Once the vortex was in her there was no way to save her. Surely the Doctor knew this? Of course that didn't mean he wouldn't try. He sacrificed his ninth regeneration to save her yet she was still going to die. So the TARDIS decided to do something drastic. Not even she knew if it would work. She changed Rose. Rose had wished she could stay with The Doctor forever and now she could. The TARDIS made her into a Time Lady. By doing this Rose was saved.

The TARDIS told no one. No one could know. Not even Rose and especially not The Doctor. She cloaked the pink and yellow human and decided that she would explain once she died. But Rose didn't die with The Doctor. She died in a parallel universe, hit by a drunk driver only a year after Bad Wolf Bay. She died in a hospital, still not knowing that she was no longer human.

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><p><strong>the idea for this was mulling about in my head so I decided to write it down in a notebook. I finally decideD to type up my work and share it with the people of the internet. It's my first Who fic so I'm a bit self conscious about it. The writing gets better. I promise.<strong>


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One: In Which Our Heroine Dies

Beeeeeeepppp

That was the sound of Rose Tyler's death. Two days prior Rose had been out on an early morning walk when she had been hit by a drunk driver. For two days Pete and Jackie Tyler had waited at her bedside, hoping beyond hope that she would pull through. But on the second night, as they sat together in silence, Rose's breathing began to slow. Soon it stopped altogether.

That was it, a quiet end. Jackie began to sob into Pete's shoulder. "She wouldn't ave wanted to go out that way." Jackie wailed. "She'd ave wanted to go out with a-" BANG! Rose's body exploded into golden flames. Jackie screamed in terror and scrambled to hide behind her husband. The light slowly subsided and Rose sat up with a groan. "Feels like I got hit by a bus."

Both Jackie and Pete stared at the woman in front of them. "What'd you do to Rose?" Pete asked finally. The woman blinked at them "what do you mean? I'm Rose." She insisted. "Your face. It's gone." Jackie whimpered. Rose placed her hand to her face experimentally. "What do you mean?" Pete picked up a mirror from a table and handed it to his daughter.

"Oh my god." Rose Tyler was gone. In her place there was a stranger. This new girl had pale skin, with freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks. Her hair was red and it ran in loose ringlets down her back. Her eyes were sky blue and framed with long lashes. Her face was thinner and her cheekbones more prominent. There was a loud crash as the mirror slipped from her delicate hands.

"Oh I'll kill him!" Rose looked at her mother "kill who?" She asked. "That bloody alien. Somehow this is his fault. You've gone and changed your face just like him. You've, you've, regimentated." Jackie fumed. "You mean The Doctor? He only regenerated because he's a Time Lord. I'm human. Humans don't regenerate." Rose frowned. She hopped off of her hospital bed. She found that her hospital gown was suddenly too big. Holding her gown up with one hand, she marched across the room and snatched a stethoscope from the table.

She put the medical instrument on and placed it to her chest. "Oh my god." Her eyes widened in terror and she dropped the stethoscope. Jackie was hovering behind her "what? What is it?" She asked. "Double heartbeat." Rose said faintly before her eyes fluttered shut and she crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

A little while later Rose began to stir. She opened one eye experimentally, and then the other. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, trying to remember what had happened and where she was.

Slowly realization dawned on her face and she shot up from the floor. "Don't over exert yourself!" Jackie chided. Rose ignored her, hurrying past her to shut and lock the door. "You've got to get me out of here." She said. "I think I know how to get home."

"Oh wow, you really do have two hearts." Mickey said intelligently. Rose rolled her eyes at him behind his back. "Idiot." She said teasingly "you think I don't know how many hearts I have?" The sound of her voice made her wince. Everything had changed, she didn't even recognize her own voice anymore. She'd had Mickey scan her to confirm her suspicions. She had in fact been turned into a gallefryian. Her bio scans matches the ones that Torchwood had on file for The Doctor. How the change had happened no one knew. Rose had feared No one would believe her when she said she hadn't the foggiest idea how she'd changed faces, and species, as well as almost instantaneously figured out a way to return to her original universe. But they all had. They'd seen stranger (although Jackie admitted she wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't witnessed the regeneration herself.) Rose didn't know how but if she focused she could feel the movement of time and space. In the three days since her regeneration (there was no since in denying that was what it had been) it had only gotten stronger. She didn't have time to worry about that now though. Now she had to prepare for the return trip. Because if they started now they'd be home in no time.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two: In Which The Doctor is Late

Doctor POV

The Doctor was late. He was hardly ever late! He hurried down the street back to the park where he had arranged to meet Martha and Sarah Jane. He could blame his being late on the shapeshifter he'd caught robbing a bank. (They wouldn't believe him. He had a time machine) or on the line at the flower shop (he was carrying a bouquet of Daises, a last minute peace offering.) but if he was being honest with himself the park was just a little too close to where she had lived. "No use living in the past." He reminded himself once again. More accurately the 57,500,276th time since she'd been taken from him. Yes. He had counted.

He burst into the TARDIS to find both Martha and Sarah Jane waiting for him. "You're late." Martha said as soon as he stepped through the door. He looked at their annoyed faces and decided that Daisies wouldn't cut it. He grinned sheepishly at his former companions as he stuffed the flowers into his jacket along with his sonic screwdriver. "Well, um, you see I was on my way and there was this robbery. I had to step in. But I'm here now!" Both women frowned at him, clearly unconvinced. "Never mind that. You're here now and that's what matters." Sarah Jane said. Martha nodded "I would kill for some chips right now. There's this place near here that has really great chips."

The Doctor frowned at her. "Chips? Why chips? You could have any food ever and you choose chips? You could have chips any time. This is your chance to try something new. I've never understood why you humans like them so much. Just fried bits of po-" "Doctor." Martha cut off his rant by placing her hand on his shoulder "we know." His shoulders slumped. "How?"

Martha smiled. "We know you. Besides, it isn't that hard to use an address book. You can't avoid everything that reminds you of Rose." He nodded. Martha was right. That didn't mean he'd listen to her. He'd ignored his own advice 57,500,276 times and he was the smartest person he knew. "I'll go eat chip with you" he said dejectedly.

"You've been traveling alone haven't you?" Martha asked. The Doctor dejectedly picked at his lunch. "You promised you'd find someone." She reminded him. This was met with a shrug. "Just haven't found anyone who fits the bill yet." He said, not looking her in the eye. Sarah Jane sighed "what is it this time." This wasn't the first meal that he'd ruined with his heartbroken moping. "First date. Came here for the chips." The Doctor replied. There was a long pause before Sarah Jane changed the subject by asking Martha about her work.

The Doctor ate his meal, only half listening to his friends conversing. He felt like he was being watched. He whipped his head around. The only other person in the room was a girl about Martha's age. She had curly red hair and blue eyes and was staring at him like she'd just seen a ghost. He looked about to make sure there weren't any ghosts around. There weren't when he glanced back she was staring out the window like nothing had happened.

Roses POV

Rose had told herself that no matter what she wouldn't go searching for The Doctor. What she hadn't considered was the possibility that she would ever meet him again. Not to mention on the very day she'd gotten back. She'd checked out her old flat, the spare key was still under the mat, and found that all her and her mums old stuff was stacked in boxes. She planned to rent it out and start all over. Her mother had stayed behind with Pete and the baby. Anyway there was a cool down time between jumps.

Rose had spent the whole morning exploring London. Around lunch time she had gotten hungry so she had headed to her favorite chippy. Imagine her surprise when, sitting in her usual seat eating her lunch, she hear the familiar sound of the TARDIS. A few minutes later the Doctor entered (following two women one of who Rose recognized as Sarah Jane Smith) and sat down to eat his lunch! She tried to ignore him but she couldn't help but listen to their conversation. "What is it this time?" That was Sarah Jane "first date. Came here for the chips" Roses eyes widened. They were talking bout her! She turned around 100% ready to tell him that she was right there. The words stuck in her throat. He wouldn't believe her. She was different now. H looked so terribly sad. She wanted to hug him close and tell him everything would be okay. But then he turned around. Their eyes met. She was glad when he turned away. She wouldn't have been able to.

Doctor POV

"I'll pay." Martha offered. "You paid last time." Sarah Jane argued. The Doctor wasn't listening. He was still studying the (little) red headed girl. Did he know her? She had acted as if she knew him. He watched as the girl go up and headed to the restrooms. He excused himself and followed her. The toilets were separated from the rest of the restraint by a long, dimly lit, hallway. He was halfway down said hallway when he heard a scream. "The Girl!" He quickly ran the rest of the way down the hall.

When he found her the girl was pinned to the wall, held there by a pair of shadowy arms a third arm was covering her mouth. She was straining to reach her bag which was laying a few feet away. She spotted him and gave him a look that seemed to say "a little help already?" He realized that she was slowly being absorbed into the wall, as if the shadow was eating her.

Whatever the creature was it was clearly shadow based, due to the arms that were trapping the girl. Since the creature was shadow based he just needed "Light!" He ran towards the shadowy beast, reaching into his jacket, and pulled out Daisies! The creature made a rumbling noise, almost like laughter, and swatted the flowers away with a forth hand.

The Doctor cursed and reached back into his jacket. "Where did I put my sonic?" The girl rolled her eyes. Her legs were already fully absorbed into the shadowy creature. She lunged forward, snagging the strap of her bag. She reached into it and pulled out a torch which she shined on the creature. It screamed and exploded into a million shadowy bits.

The Doctor watched the girl, awestruck, as she brushed shadow bits off her legs. "Blech. You wouldn't think a shadow would be sticky." She complained. The Doctor just stared at her. "What's the matter? Do I have some on my face?" She asked, glancing up at him. He shook his head. "No. It's just, why do you have a torch in your purse?" He asked her. She grinned at him "why do you have flowers in your jacket?"

The Doctor did a double take. He could have sworn that this girl had given him the same tongue-in-teeth smile that he'd only ever seen from Rose Tyler. "Do that again!" He said quickly. She looked rather taken aback. "Do what?" She asked "Smile." She did, although a bit nervously, and this time there was no tongue involved. He must have imagined it.

"That was an alien." Her words brought him back to reality. They weren't a question. There was no doubt in this girls mind that she had just almost been eaten by an alien. She was simply stating fact. He nodded. "And you. You're an alien as well." She added after a moment. "That's right. I'm the-" "Doctor!" Martha and Sarah Jane were running down the hallway towards them. They both came skidding to a halt when they saw the shadow goo all over the walls and floor. "What happened?" Martha asked.

"This young lady here found herself in the grips of an alien life form." The Doctor informed them. "Obviously. But how'd you get rid of it?" Martha asked him. The redhead made a snorting noise, clearly offended by the question. "I shined a flashlight on it while he played with flowers." She snapped sarcastically. Then she frowned as if she had surprised even herself with the outburst. Martha grinned "playing with flowers Doctor?" She asked teasingly. "What's your name?" She asked the girl. "Ro-Rhodes. Grace Rhodes. And you are?" Martha smiled "I'm Martha Jones. That's Sarah Jane Smith. We're friends of his." She pointed at The Doctor

"I'm afraid we've got to be going now." Sarah Jane cut in. "We'll both be late." They both hugged The Doctor and shook hands with a nervous looking Grace before heading out. The Doctor watched them go before turning back to Grace. "So Grace Rhodes. I've got an offer for you." She grinned at him "what kind of offer?" She asked. "How would you like to see the stars?" He asked her.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three: In Which The Doctor Fixes a Closet

"Okay Grace. You can open your eyes now." The Doctor had led her out of the restraint and down the street to where the TARDIS was parked. Grace removed her hands from her eyes. "It's a police box." She said. "No it just looks like a police box." The Doctor corrected her "it's really a time traveling spaceship." He loved this part.

"This is your spaceship" Grace said with a sort of sigh. He nodded cheerfully. "This is the TARDIS. Stands for Time and Relative Dimension In Space." He pushed the doors open and beckoned her inside. Grace stepped over the threshold and stood staring at the inside of the box with a sad smile. "Anything you want to say?" He asked her hopefully. This made her grin "it's bigger on the inside." She supplied. He frowned "how is none of this surprising you?" He finally asked. She laughed "I worked for Torchwood." She explained. "I've read your file." He shook his head. "Aren't you a little young to be a Torchwood agent?" He asked her. She stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm older than I look." She said defensively

"Right than Miss Rhodes. You've got one trip before you go home. And when I say you go home I'm mean you. I'm not meeting your mother. Or any family members. I don't do domestic." Grace nodded. "Does the phone box have a shower in it?" She asked "cos I've still got alien goo in my hair" the Doctor nodded "through that door. Down the hall. Third door on the left." Grace nodded, flashing him a thumbs up. "Thanks." She hurried through the door and down the hallway. "Oh and Grace?" She poked her head back through the door. "Yes Doctor?" She asked. "Directly across the hall, giant closet room, you can borrow anything you want. You've got goo on your shirt too." She smiled at him "thanks!" Then she disappeared back down the passage way.

TARDIS POV

Rose was back! The TARDIS had felt it as soon as she had stepped back into the blue box. It was Rose, she was sure of that, but not the same Rose. A new Rose! A regenerated Rose! An unrecognizable Rose. Recognizable to the TARDIS of course but not to her thief. He knew her as Grace. But a Rose by any other name, or face for that matter, was just as sweet. He'd promised her one trip. That wouldn't do. Somehow Rose would have to stay on board. The TARDIS would have to keep her there until her secret was revealed.

Rose POV

Rose couldn't believe it. This was actually happening. She'd pinched herself three times so far and she hadn't woken up yet. Never in her wildest dreams had she dared to think that she would run into him mere hours after her arrival. But here she was back on the TARDIS, back on the road to adventure. The Doctor and Rose together again. But it was The Doctor and Grace now. She'd almost slipped up. She'd almost said her name. She wasn't Rose Tyler anymore. Rose was dead here, anyway she wasn't the same person anymore. She wasn't even human anymore and she didn't know how it had happened.

She sat there letting the water run over her until it turned cold. Then she shut it up and wrapping herself in a towel, headed across the hallway to the closet room. She opened the door and poked her head into the gigantic room. The room was filled with row upon row of clothes, all of which were some shade of pink. She frowned, shutting the door. She then counted to ten and re opened the door. Everything was still pink. "Oh come on!" She tried again with similar results. "I give up!" Rose marched down the hall and back into the control room. "Doctor!"

The Doctor was standing at the circular control panel in the center of the room. He turned to face her, his eyes going wide when he realized she was wearing nothing but a towel. "Um, hello Grace, what seems to be the trouble?" He asked. Rose glared at him "your closet is stubborn." She informed him. The Doctor gulped visibly. "Oh." He said faintly "how so?" Rose scowled. "Everything in there is pink!" The Doctor nodded slowly. "The TARDIS can sometimes be a bit fickle. It takes her a while to warm up to people. She's just messing with you, saying hello." Rose rolled her eyes "of course your ship doesn't like me." She assumed it was the opposite. Rose loved link and the TARDIS knew that. Her knew hair clashed horribly with her favorite color rendering her unable to wear it.

The Doctor was still standing awkwardly in front of her. "Is pink a problem?" He asked her. She nodded "clashes with my hair." The Doctor nodded in a way that made her think he didn't see colors clashing as a very big problem. "If you can't fix it then I'll just have to wear this towel." Rose insisted. This comment had the desired effect. "That won't be necessary!" The Doctor said quickly. Rose smiled. "After you." She said politely. "Ladies first." He replied. Rose rolled her eyes as she headed back to the closet room. "Eyes front soldier." She warned him as he followed her down the hall.

Doctor POV

Grace had almost given him a heart attack. He'd been doing a bit of maintenance work, pondering where he should take her on their trip, when she had come barging back into the console room. He'd turned to see what she wanted to find her dressed in nothing but a towel. It had taken most of his willpower not to ogle. Apparently the closet room was producing only pink clothes. The Doctor would have dismissed it as unimportant if she hadn't threatened to walk around in nothing but that bloody towel.

Her other clothes were quite properly soiled. They'd need a good washing and his washer was broken. So he begrudgingly followed her back to the wardrobe room. He mentally scolded the TARDIS for being a pain. This was met with the TARDIS equivalent of a shrug. He frowned and opened the door. The room was no longer filled with pink. Instead it house row upon row of white wedding dresses. He heard Grace groan from behind him and quickly shut the door.

The second time he attempted the door he was buried under an avalanche of pink and yellow rose petals. The flower petals vanished as soon as he shut the door. He took a deep breath and opened the door a third and final time. This time the room was filled with dresses of every color and style. "That'll do won't it?" He asked. Without waiting for an answer he hurried back down the hall into the control room. Leaving Grace alone with the clothes.

Rose POV

Rose entered the closet room and shut the door behind her. "Really?" She glared up at the ceiling. The lights in the room flickered, as if the TARDIS were laughing at her. "Pink and yellow roses!?" She was lucky that the Doctor could be so thick. An image of a heart appeared in her mind. She rolled her eyes and began to browse through the racks of dresses. "I don't suppose you had anything to do with this?" She asked, gesturing to herself. No response. "You did this didn't you?!" She exclaimed. She received a string of mental images. A Dalek the Doctor prior to his regeneration, the word Badwolf written as graffiti on a wall, an image of the old Rose, the X-ray she'd had Mickey take of her, and finally an image of her as she was now. She had no idea what the TARDIS was trying to tell her.

"Oh never mind that." She said with a sigh. "What should I wear?" A yellow dress appeared on the rack in front of her. Along with a rather familiar looking leather jacket. "Is that his?" She asked the TARDIS. She received the same image of the Doctor looking like he had when she'd first met him. She supposed that was meant to be a yes.

The skirt of her new dress hit just above her knees. She rather liked it. It was sleeveless with a white Peter Pan collar that had small pearls sewn onto it. The leather jacket fit surprisingly well considering her now smaller figure. She smoothed her hair back into a bun and donned a pair of black combat boots before fastening a black belt around her waist to accentuate her new hourglass shape. Deeming herself presentable she headed back into the console room. She had found that since she'd regenerated she put a lot more thought into her appearance. She smoothed her skirt as she exited the wardrobe, wondering how the Doctor would react to her new outfit.

Doctor POV

The TARDIS was acting strange. Pink clothes, wedding dresses, rose petals, and now he could swear he kept hearing her talking to someone. Of course she wouldn't be able to talk to anyone else. No one else on board had telepathic abilities. He must have been imagining it. He didn't have much time to dwell on it because he could hear Grace coming back down the hall. He turned to look at her. She was wearing a yellow dress under his old leather jacket. "His jacket? His old jacket. Where had she found his jacket?" He had to admit it fit her quite well. He had a feeling it had something to do with the TARDIS. Either she was trying to drive him crazy or she was trying to tell him something. Maybe she was trying to tell hi he was going crazy. No, that was a stupid idea.

"Well? How do I look?" Grace spun in a circle so he could see the whole outfit. He was reminded of Rose on their trip to the fifties. She'd been so excited. Then she'd gotten her face stolen by an alien living in the Telly. Suffice it to say the trip hadn't gone as planned.

"Very nice" The Doctor told her. "May I ask where you got the Jacket?" Grace grinned. "Nice isn't it? It was on the hanger with the dress." He nodded "used to belong to a friend of mine." He told her. Her face fell. "Oh. I'm sorry. Should I put it back?" She asked quickly. The Doctor shook his head. "Nope. They don't need it anymore." She nodded although she still looked unsure. "It's fine." He reassured her. "Honestly." She still looked a bit glum but it was better than before.

"Aren't you going to ask me where we're going?" This perked her up. "Where are we going?" She asked "I was thinking sometime in the past. How does the age of exploration sound?" He asked her. "Sounds brilliant." She exclaimed, beaming at him. "Let's go then!" He pressed a couple of buttons on the console in front of him. "Pull that lever would you?" He asked. She did as instructed and off they went.

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><p><strong>AN: Oh my goodness! There are already so many people who've seen this story! Thank you to everyone who favorited/followed it. It really means a lot to me. I've got a lot of the next few chapters already written I just need to copy them onto here. Once I've done that updates will become a bit slower. Hopefully not too slow though :) **

**Thank you all so much and remember to leave a review or a suggestion on what you want to see happen next. **

** -Eva**


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter 4: In Which They Meet Colombus

Rose POV

"Fourteen Ninety-Two Grace! Do you know what happened in fourteen ninety-two?" The Doctor asked as he rushed about the console. "Colombus sailed the ocean blue the summer of Fourteen Ninety-two!" Rose chanted. "Right! And we're gonna be there when he does it." The Doctor informed her. Rose grinned. From prior experience meetings with historical figures were always interesting. She just hoped this trip didn't involve the Gelth or any French women.

"Hold down that button there would you?" The Doctor asked, indicating the button in question. Rose was already in charge of two other buttons and a lever but she reached across the control panel to press this one anyway. She had learned not to question The Doctor when it came to piloting the TARDIS. (Or at least question him as little as possible) Finally the TARDIS landed, it's familiar wooshing noise subsiding.

"Go on, open the door." The Doctor said, nudging her with his elbow. Rose beamed at him and hurried towards the doors. She paused in front of them before throwing them open and stepping outside.

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><p>"Hey! What are you doing here!?" That certainly wasn't what Rose had been expecting. She turned to face the man who had spoken. "Don't you know it's bad luck to have a woman aboard the ship?" The man asked her. The TARDIS had materialized on the lower deck of a ship. Almost as soon as Rose had gathered in her surroundings she had been spotted by this man.<p>

He wasn't even a man really. He looked to be about sixteen or seventeen. He was a good head taller than Rose. His height served to make him look even more lanky than he already did. She would've pushed past him if he hadn't been pointing a knife at her.

"How did you even get on here?" The boy asked her. Rose rolled her eyes and took a deep breath but before she could respond a man approached them. This man was about the same height as beanpole boy. Unlike his friend he was well muscled, causing him to look a lot less reminiscent of a chicken. The man was wearing a silver, almost bell shaped, helmet on his head and he had a finely trimmed mustache and goatee. "Everything okay over here?" He asked the younger man. The boy shook his head vigorously. "No sir. I just found this here stowaway." He said "and a girl no less." He added under his breath so that in theory Rose wouldn't be able to hear him. The second man studied Rose "why so it seems."

That was when the door to the TARDIS opened once again and the doctor stepped out of it. "What's this then?" He asked, surveying the scene before him. "Beanpole and Conquistador here think I'm a stowaway." Rose told him. He cocked an eyebrow at her nicknames for the two men before turning to face them. Both men were staring at the TARDIS in awe. Neither of them had noticed it having been so focused on Rose.

The second man was the first to recover his senses. "What is the meaning of this!?" He demanded. The Doctor scowled "Is that any way to treat a guest?" He chided. The man looked rather taken aback. "Guest?" The Doctor flashed him his psychic paper "Yes. Guests." The man nodded. "I see. Come, you'll want to meet Colombus."

The man led them up a set of wooden steps and onto the upper deck of the ship. The ship they were on was docked beside two other ships. The man led them to a small dinghy which they boarded and rowed through the shallow water to the shore. The water was a clear crystal blue color, the beach was made of pale white sand. Beyond the beach there was a wild looking jungle. The man tried to make small talk as they rowed. "May I ask why you've joined us on this voyage?" He asked them. "Oh. We're, um, on our honeymoon." The Doctor said quickly. Rose gaped at him. He grinned at her and put a finger to his lips. She crossed her arms over her chest and stayed silent.

"That's lovely Mister..." The man paused, frowning, he clearly couldn't remember The Doctor's name. That was probably because he hadn't given one. "What did you say your name was?" He asked. The Doctor beamed at him. "Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Smith." The man nodded. They continued rowing in silence until they reached the shore. The man led them up the sandy beach towards a group of men.

The Men were all standing in a little huddle. Rose noticed that they all wore clothes similar to the ones their guide was wearing. The man marched up to them and after a few minutes of hushed discussion he beckoned them over. "Sir, This is Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Friends of the royal family."

He had addressed a tall man with long black hair and a neatly trimmed goatee. The man surveyed them with a cold expressionless face. Then his eyes softened and he grinned broadly at them. "Welcome Friends." He strode towards them, arms wide in welcome. He grabbed the Doctor's hand and shook it vigorously. He turned to Rose and bowed so low that his nose touched his knee caps, then he took her hand and kissed it. Rose smiled graciously at him and curtsied politely.

"Allow me to introduce myself." The Doctor said. "My name is John Smith, this is my wife Grace. You must be Colombus." The man, who was evidently Christopher Colombus, nodded "at your service." He said jovially.

Rose decided she'd let the fellows chat. She quietly surveyed the rest of the men. They all looked vaguely similar, like they could be brothers. She spotted a chest sitting in the sand. It was probably filled with something like gold or jewels. That was the kind of stuff that explorers would carry around right? Her attention was brought back to the two men before her at the mention of her alias.

"Grace? No not mute just shy." The Doctor explained. "In public." He added under his breath so that only she would hear. "What a beautiful name, Grace." Colombus said. "A lovely name for a lovely woman. She is as beautiful as a rose is she not?" Rose shivered, both at the mention of her real name and the scrutiny of Colombus' gaze. The Doctor seemed to notice her discomfort. He put his arm around her, pulling him closer to her. It was such a familiar action yet it felt new in this body. It did the trick though. Rose instantly felt safer.

"We wanted to join you on your quest to look for the natives." The Doctor explained. Colombus nodded. "You are welcome to join us. We are heading out right now." He turned and headed back to his men, shouting orders at them. Rose turned to glare at The Doctor. "Married?" She asked incredulously. He grinned sheepishly at her. "It was the first thing that popped into my head." If he had said something like this before Canary Wharf Rose would have been elated by the fact that the first thing he though of was being married to her. Now it just saddened her. "Come on Spaceman, they're leaving us behind." She said. "Spaceman?" Rose turned, ignoring his protest, and began to head towards the jungle. She counted to ten before she heard him begin to follow her.

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><p>Rose followed the group of explorers through the jungle. They were making terribly slow progress through the thick undergrowth. Rose was glad she hadn't worn period clothing this time around, it was worth the strange looks to be able to walk through the jungle. She was contemplating this when suddenly, a dart shot out of the trees and went whizzing past her ear.<p>

The dart lodged itself in the peck of the man in front of her. The man crumpled. Rose was about to check to see if he was alright when darts began to rain down upon them. The men were dropping like flies. Rose was amazed she hadn't been hit yet. Suddenly someone grabbed her from behind. It was The Doctor. He pulled her down onto the ground and pressed himself on top of her. "A bit touchy feely." She complained. He put a finger to his lips. "Stay completely still." He said quietly.

The clearing had suddenly become deathly quiet. After a while Rose began to hear footsteps. She looked up at The Doctor. He looked extremely worried. "When I say go I need you to run. Get back to the TARDIS and wait for me." He instructed her. She nodded. The footsteps were getting closer. Rose could hear people talking in hushed voices. Suddenly the Doctor leapt to his feet. "Go!" He yelled. Rose scrambled to her feet as darts rained down on them. She saw four or five hit The Doctor in the chest. She turned and ran into the trees, se could hear shouts coming from behind her. She didn't even dare sneak a glance in the direction she had come from for fear she was being followed.

Finally, Rose had to stop and catch her breath. She sat down on a nearby rock. There was a sharp pain in her shoulder like something had scratched her. She glanced down to find one of the darts lodged there. She panicked for a moment before realizing that the dart had to have been there for a while. If it were going to knock her out it would have by now. She realized that the darts probably only worked on humans. That was why The Doctor had used himself to shield her. He wouldn't be affected either. She needed to save him. Even if the darts hadn't worked he was still outnumbered. Someone needed to rescue him and that someone was her.

Doctor POV

The Doctor had expected the natives to shoot him down. They had certainly tried but apparently the darts had no affect on Time Lords. He had most certainly not expected them to burst into cries of joy when they too realized that the darts had no effect on him. They began to dance about the clearing, singing happily. The biggest of the bunch, the one with the most stripes painted on his face, bowed at his feet.

"What are you doing that for?" The Doctor protested. The man looked up at him. "I praise the great god who has blessed us with his presence." He explained. The Doctor groaned. "No, no, you don't want to worship me. I'd make a horrible god." They didn't seem to hear him, or they just didn't care. They were all bowing now. "Okay then. Take me to your leader." He said. They all looked up at him expectantly. "Oh. I suppose I'm your leader now?" They all nodded. The big one spoke again. "We shall take the great god to his people. We shall bask in his presence before he is freed." They all cheered. Two of the bigger ones picked him up and put him on their shoulders. "Wait a second! Freed from what?" He asked. The man smiled at him. "Feed from your prison of flesh and bone."

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><p>AN The next chapter is coming soon. I'm sorry if this isn't very historically accurate. I couldn't remember very much about Colombus and I was to lazy to do any research. :P

Thanks so much for reading this far. Remember to leave a review and keep coming back for more.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter 5: In Which The Doctor Climbs a Tree

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><p>Rose POV<p>

Finding The Doctor was easy. All Rose had to do was follow the noise. She'd followed it to a village in the middle of the jungle. All of the natives had gathered in a clearing near the middle of the village. On the far side of the crowded space sat a throne, on top of the throne sat The Doctor. Columbus and his men were kneeling on the ground behind him, hands tied behind their backs.

The natives had adorned The Doctor in beads and feathers. Despite the fact that they seemed to be waiting on him hand and foot, he seemed uncharacteristically nervous. He addressed one of the natives nearest him. "Bananas. Definitely more bananas, bring me some of those." She could tell that he was stalling.

Rose began to make her way through the crowd. None of the partying natives seemed to notice her. Slowly, she managed to make her way to the foot of the throne. "Psst. Doctor." He looked around him, trying to find who had spoken. "Down here spaceman!" He looked down at her disapprovingly. "Grace? I told you to get to the TARDIS." She crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "You needed help."

The Doctor shook his head but made no other argument. "You need to get me out of here. They think I'm a god. They want to free me from my prison of flesh and bone." Rose couldn't help it, she began to laugh hysterically. Suddenly the eyes of everyone in the clearing were on her. She grinned and waved at the surprised looking natives. "Get her!" One of them shouted. The Doctor raised his arms, revealing the ropes that bound him to the chair.

"What do I do?" Rose asked frantically. "Look in the jacket." The Doctor suggested. Rose stuck her hands into the pockets, silently cursing The Doctor when she realized that they were bigger on the inside. She scrabbled around for a bit and pulled out a piece of string, a handful of rocks, a ring, and a rather old looking receipt. She stuffed them back where they came from.

The only reason they hadn't been killed was that the natives were fighting over who was going to kill them. "Oh for goodness sake." Rose clamored onto the throne. She was practically sitting in The Doctor's lap. She tore the necklaces of shells and feathers from his neck and reached into his jacket. "Now who's getting touchy feely?" He asked her. "You told me to look in the jacket." Rose replied, pulling out the sonic screwdriver.

She aimed the screwdriver at the ropes that bound his hands and pushed the button. They fell away almost instantly. He looked at her in a astonishment. "How did you how to do that?" He asked her. "Lucky guess? It's not as complicated as it looks." She told him.

They both jumped down from the throne and Rose tossed The Doctor the sonic. He caught it and sprinted towards Columbus and his men. They were being pursued by a good ten or so of the natives. The biggest of the bunch, who Rose assumed must be the leaders. The Doctor quickly released Doctor quickly released the men from the ropes "Run." He told them. They didn't need any encouragement.

The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her along with him. Columbus was running along side them. "You aren't really married are you?" Rose shook her head, finding it a bit strange that this was his first question. "Not a chance." She told him. He turned to The Doctor. "You aren't really named John Smith are you?" He asked. The Doctor grinned at him. "Hello. I'm The Doctor." He said with a little wave. "And before you ask no I'm not human." Columbus looked like he was about to faint.

That was when the natives began to shoot at them. Not darts like before, this time it was lasers. They were being shot at by lasers. Rose looked up at The Doctor. "Those aren't humans either are they?" The Doctor shook his head. "Afraid not." He turned to Columbus. "Get your men back on the ship. We can handle this." The explorer made no arguments, he simply kept on running.

The Doctor pulled Rose off of the path and into the trees, heading away from Columbus and his men. The aliens followed in quick pursuit. "They look human." Rose remarked. "So do I." The Doctor pointed out. Rose realized that she was one to talk, pretending that she was still human and that she didn't know him.

"So what are they really?" Rose asked as they ran through the trees. "My guess is that they're some form of shape shifter." The Doctor tole her. "But I can't be sure until I scan them." Rose nodded. "With your screwdriver?" He looked at her, puzzled. "What?" She asked. "How did you know what it was called?" He asked her.

Rose mentally scolded herself. Grace Rhodes didn't know about that particular tidbit yet. "I, um, read your file. Torchwood remember?" She lied. It seemed like a logical explanation. The Doctor shook his head, frowning. "Torchwood. Too nosy for their own good." She smiled at him, apologetically.

"Grace. I need you to listen to me. It's up to you." He pulled his sonic from within his jacket. "Setting 53-2a. It's preset, goes ding when it's done. I need you to scan them. They want me not you." Rose nodded. He tossed her the sonic. "Are you usually this trusting?" She asked him quickly. He shook his head "Not always. But you've got experience." She grinned, he had no idea. "Go on then." He said, letting go of her hand.

Rose quickly glanced around for somewhere to hide. She quickly did the first thing that crossed her mind, she dove into the bushes. She let the aliens pass before following them. She stuck to the shadows, hoping they wouldn't see her. She followed them to a clearing where they all stopped abruptly. She looked around, trying to locate The Doctor. "You cannot stay up there forever Time Lord." One of the aliens said, stepping forward. It was then that Rose realized where The Doctor was. He'd climbed a bloody tree.

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><p>Doctor POV<p>

The Doctor was off his game today. He usually would've scanned for any alien tech but he'd been a bit distracted. Now he was stuck up a tree, relying on a girl that he had just met to save him. Not only had he just met her, she was also keeping secrets. The Torchwood bit had clearly been a lie, or at least a partial lie. Although now that he thought about it she could have been telling the truth. He was most definitely off his game.

"You cannot stay up there forever Time Lord." One of the aliens called up to him. He could see Grace hiding at the edge of the clearing. He needed to stall. "Oh. I'm sure I'll have to come down some time. Just not for a while. I quite like it up here." He said. "We can wait." Came the reply. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Grace slowly creep towards the closest of the aliens.

"Why are you here?" The Doctor asked. "We crash landed. The humans sustain us, they gave us a home and we gave them protection." The alien said. The Doctor nodded. He saw Grace grab one of the aliens, putting her hand over his mouth so that he couldn't cry out. Surprisingly none of the others noticed.

"So! You wanted to kill me! Why would you want to do that?" He asked, his voice drowning out the familiar whine of the sonic screw driver. "Your death would bring about our salvation." The alien told him. "How do you know that I wouldn't defeat you somehow?" The Doctor questioned. "We have no weaknesses!" The alien roared.

Everything was silent for a second before a loud Ding! rang throughout the clearing. All of the creatures turned to look at the source of the noise, which of course happened to be his sonic screwdriver, which of course was still in Grace's hand. Grace grinned at them "Oh now you know that's a lie." She said, addressing the leader of the aliens. "You should be ashamed of yourself. Mr. Plasmavore."

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><p>Rose POV<p>

Once The Doctor got them talking it was easy to sneak up behind the aliens and grab one. She quickly covered his mouth so that he couldn't cry out. "You are going to be absolutely quiet or else I'll kill you." She told him. She was bluffing of course, or at least she hoped she was. "W-who are you?" The alien whispered as she scanned him. "Funny you would ask, that's what I need to know from you." She told him.

Rose was only half listening to The Doctors conversation with the leader of the aliens. So she was startled when the alien roared that they had no weaknesses. Of course everyone had to go completely silent right at the same time the scan finished. She released the alien just as the screwdriver emitted a loud Ding!

Rose looked down at the results. Plasmavore. She'd dealt with Plasmavores before, working with Torchwood in Pete's world. They had plenty of weaknesses. Unfortunately Rose was unarmed. "Oh now you know that's a lie." She said, surprising herself with her boldness. "You should be ashamed of yourself. Mr. Plasmavore."

"You!" The leader of the Plasmavores hissed. "You released the Time Lord. You are working against us. You will be executed." He made a gesture with his hand, the Plasmabore that Rose had scanned turned on her. Rose backed away from him, she closed her eyes, anticipating the pain of having her blood sucked from her. Instead she heard a slicing noise accompanied by a guttural scream.

Rose opened her eyes to see Columbus standing over the lifeless body of the Plasmavore. He'd stabbed through the chest with his sword. "You came back." She said disbelievingly. "Anything for my pretty lady." He replied. She rolled her eyes "Sorry. I'm afraid I'm way out of your league."

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><p>Doctor POV<p>

She'd done it! Grace had done it! Plasmavores were easy! They were impulsive and easy to kill. A shot from one of those laser blasters should do it. "His gun Grace!" Hopefully she would get the message. She did. She grabbed the gun from the dead Plasmavore and had shot three

of the remaining ones before any of them knew what was going on. Two more were sliced in half by Colombus' sword and another was hit over the head with a rock (courtesy of Grace when she'd realized the gun she was using was out of ammo.) that left two more. He shimmied down the tree and turned to face them.

"You're not getting any of my blood. So I'll give you a choice. Stay here and fight, or run and never look back." One of the two ran away into the trees while the other drew his gun, it happened so quickly that The Doctor almost didn't see it coming. Grace did though.

"Not so fast ya bloody alien." She yelled, the Plasmavore turned just in time to be smacked across the face. He stumbled backward, tripping over his own feet and falling backwards. He scrambled to his feet and hurried into the trees. "Should we go after them?" Grace asked. He shook his head. "They can't do much harm anymore." He told her.

All of a sudden Grace was hugging him. He hadn't been expecting it at all. She released him from her grip and stepped back, grinning at him. Once again she did the thing with her tongue. He couldn't be imagining it could he? This was the second time. He shook his head to clear it.

"Good work out there team. Great technique with the rock. I'll have my screwdriver back now." Grace nodded and tossed him his precious sonic screwdriver. "Welcome back." She said. Columbus tried to put his arm around her shoulders. She glared fiercely at him, causing him to take a few quick steps backward.

The Doctor didn't blame him. He had to admit she looked rather terrifying. Her hair had fallen out of it's earlier bun, there were sticks and leaves tangled in it. Her dress was torn and stained and she had dirt on her face. Even after all that she still looked quite lovely. He shook his head at that. One trip. She was a one time passenger.

"Well we ought to go. I suspect that you'll find the rest of the natives to be very friendly." Columbus nodded "farewell Doctor." He said. The Doctor grabbed Grace's hand and began to make their way to the TARDIS. "Oh and Chris?" The explorer turned to look at him. "Yes Doctor?" He asked. "This never happened." The Doctor told him. "Agreed."

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><p><strong>AN: What do you guys think? This was my favorite chapter to write so far. The next chapter should be up within the next couple of days. Remember to read & review. **

**Love, Eva**


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six: In Which Rose Watches The News

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><p>Rose POV<p>

After their adventures with Columbus, Rose was exhausted. The Doctor must have picked up on this because he led her to one of the many spare bedrooms in TARDIS. The walls were painted a calming green and all of the furniture was white. "I'll just leave you then. He said quickly, before exiting the room.

As soon as the door shut behind him the green and white image flickered away, only to be replaced by her old room. It was exactly as she had left it. All of her belongings were in the exact same places. Surprisingly the room was completely dust free.

"It's still here?" Rose asked the TARDIS. This was answered with an image of The Doctor. He was sitting on her bed with his head in his hands. Another image replaced this one. this time The Doctor paused in front of her door, hand hovering over the knob, before turning and continuing down the corridor. Both images were accompanied by by overwhelming grief, anger, and guilt. Emotions that didn't belong to her.

Rose didn't know when the telepathy had begun but it was getting stronger. She feared that soon The Doctor would be able to sense her. Along with the telepathic abilities and the two hearts Rose had noticed a handful of other changes. Increased stamina, better vision, lower body temperature, heightened sense of taste and smell, and less of a need for sleep. Although she didn't need as much sleep as she had before Rose was tired. She laid down on her bed and slowly fell asleep.

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><p>Doctor POV<p>

Grace was sleeping. As soon as she awoke he would return her to London. He had promised her one trip and one trip she had gotten. The lights in the control room flickered and an image of Martha Jones appeared in his mind, a reminder from the TARDIS of how he'd stretched his definition of one trip for his former companion. "No more companions. Look what happened to the last two!" He insisted. The TARDIS hummed in annoyance. "I thought you didn't like Grace. All that stuff with the wardrobe?" No reply. "Oh fine. One trip to the past one to the future." He said with a sigh

The Doctor actually found Grace very intriguing. There was something she was keeping from him. He had a some time before she would be waking up, he decided to use it. The Doctor had had the TARDIS download all of Torchwood's old files. While she was sleeping he did a search for 'Grace Rhodes'. While the information was loading he made himself and Grace each a cuppa.

He returned to the console room with a cup in each hand. He took a drink of his tea and looked at the results. What he saw nearly made him choke on his tea. Nowhere in the Torchwood records was there any mention of a Grace Rhodes. As far as they were concerned she had never even existed.

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><p>Rose POV<p>

Rose awoke to the smell of tea and biscuits. She followed her nose to the kitchen. The Doctor was sitting at the table reading the paper and munching on a biscuit. The kitchen had moved since she'd been aboard last. She was about to open her mouth and tell him that when The Doctor noticed her in the doorway.

"Come in. There's tea and biscuits. If you like I think we've even got some bananas around her too." She took a seat, glad he'd spoken before she'd gotten a chance to. Grace Rhodes hadn't ever been on the TARDIS before. In this universe Rose Tyler was dead, she would just have to get used to that.

Rose took a sip of her tea, finding that it was prepared just the way she liked it. "How'd you know?" She asked as she bit into a biscuit. The Doctor frowned at her. "How'd I know what?" He asked. "How I like my tea." She indicated the cup sitting before her. "I had a friend who used to take her tea that way. I guess I'm just used to it." He explained. It took Rose a second to realize that he was talking about her.

"Before or after Ms. Jones?" Rose asked. "Before" The Doctor replied absentmindedly. Rose smiled. At least he hadn't been alone. "What happened to her?" She asked quietly. The Doctor shook his head. "I lost her. I don't want to talk about it." Rose nodded, she wouldn't want to talk about Canary Wharf either.

There was a long silence. Finally Rose spoke. "So. I suppose I'll be going home today?" She asked The Doctor. The Doctor looked at her. "Weelll. I suppose I could stretch the definition of one trip." He said. Rose grinned "How so?" She asked. He grinned right back at her. "I took you to the past. How about we visit the future? One trip of course." She took another sip of tea before answering. "That sounds fantastic!"

"Where are we going?" Rose asked excitedly as she watched The Doctor press buttons and flip switches on the console. She was perched on the railing with her second cup of tea in her hands. She had donned a lightweight purple floral print blazer over a white t-shirt and black shorts. She'd tied her red curls out of her face with a purple ribbon. "Somewhere in the future." The Doctor informed her as he whacked the console with a small hammer.

"Yes but where in the future?" Rose asked. The Doctor didn't answer her. Instead he pulled the lever that started the TARDIS. The familiar wooshing noise started up as they began to dematerialize. Almost as soon as it started the noise stopped, signaling that they'd landed. "Why don't you open the door and find out?" He suggested.

Rose hopped down from the railing and hurried across the room to the TARDIS doors. She waited until The Doctor was by her side until she pushed the doors open, not wanting a repeat of last time. Beyond the doors there was a bustling city. There were hundreds of people of all shapes, sizes, and races. The buildings were so tall that they seemed to go on forever. The sky was a brilliant blue and there wasn't a cloud to be seen.

The Doctor followed Rose out of the TARDIS and stood next to her, surveying their surroundings. Even with all the beauty of the city there was something off about it. The Doctor noticed it before she did. "Look closely at the sky." He told her. She did, and after a moment she realized that the sky was actually a dome.

"Spaceship Hollywood. Year 4049." The Doctor informed her. "Said to be the most glamorous place in the galaxy. A ship full of the rich and famous of the universe. Where the stars go to see the stars. You get my drift." Rose nodded. She walked toward a booth that was sitting on the sidewalk, similar to a phone booth. On the side of the booth the word News was written in bold lettering. She peered into the booth. All there was was a screen, like a television, with the words "place hand here" written on it. She stepped into the booth, placing her hand on the screen. A small camera emerged above the screen and the word "smile" scrolled across the screen. She did and the camera took several pictures of her.

The screen went black for a moment. When it lit back up a logo flashed across the screen. The BadWolf corporation. Rose shivered, even now those words made her nervous. She had spread the words across time and space. She had learned that most of the time they didn't mean anything.

"Welcome to Spaceship Hollywood. Please state your name and business." A strangely cheerful and robotic female voice said. "Umm. Grace Rhodes, visitor." She said. On the screen an image of Rose herself appeared. "Welcome Grace Rhodes. This is the daily news, brought to you by the Badwolf corporation. Spaceship Hollywood is proud to welcome The Face of Boe on board. The Face of Boe is the last of his kind, it is said that he has lived for millions of years. Rumors of a baby Boe were disproved earlier this year."

Rose listened to the news, only half paying attention. Her onscreen self was now talking about the disappearance of the S.S. Madam De Pompadour. Her attention was drawn back to the screen when her onscreen doppelgänger announced the cover story.

"Headz! The fashion statement of the year! This recent trend has become all the rage here on spaceship Hollywood. Headz stores are popping up everywhere around the galaxy. According to a recent survey the most popular Headz are those of old earth movie stars. For those of you who have been living under a rock and don't know what I'm talking about Headz are removable heads that you can wear. They function just like regular heads and require a minor surgery for use. A new common practice is head renting. Young ladies are renting out their own heads to make big bucks. Lady Penelope Lennon, a resident of spaceship Holywood, is said to own the largest known collection of Headz. She is also a known head dealer, she helps young ladies rent out their own heads. For your viewing enjoyment we have managed to procure an interview with her."

Rose paused the program. "Doctor! You might want to see this." She called. The Doctor poked his head into the booth. "What is it?" He asked. Rose rewound the video and pressed play. They watched the whole report, including the interview. Once the report ended the Badwolf corporation logo flashed across the screen one more time before it went blank. The Doctor frowned. "This is not right." Rose nodded. "I thought so." There was a pause "are we going to investigate?" She asked. "Of course." The Doctor told her. "Wouldn't miss it."

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the fairly short chapter. There's more to come in the next one I promise. This is pretty much just a transitional chapter. I'm almost out of pre-written chapters. Pretty soon I'll be asking what you think should happen next. **

**Remember to Read & Reveiw. **

**Love, Eva **


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: In Which Rose Does Some Deducing

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><p>The home of one Lady Penelope Lennon looked just like any other home. That is, any other home on Spaceship Hollywood. Meaning that Lady Penelope Lennon lived in a lavish mansion. It was decorated with priceless relics from old earth. However, out of all her possessions, her most prized were by far her collection of Headz.<p>

Lady Penelope was so obsessed with collecting and changing her head that no one could be sure they knew what her actual face looked like. She had had all childhood photos of herself removed from her home and burned. There was much controversy surrounding both her collection and her involvement in head renting.

Of course she assured people that her own collection was made up of artificial Headz which she had custom made. This was a lie of course. Unknown to all was that over half of her collection had been stolen from her clients. She'd also been known to steal heads from visitors. The pretty young wives and daughters of friends. Sometimes she even stole the heads of random young ladies who had the misfortune of meeting her.

This was the case with one Lola King, aspiring reporter and assistant to Mr. Thomas Busk.

Across town in the government district of the spaceship the same Mr. Thomas Busk had been thrown out of the police station for the third time that week. Mr. Busk was a reporter for the Spaceship Hollywood news. For the past month he had been trying to uncover the secret behind Lady Penelope's head collection. The police had ignored the accusations of foul play, chalking it up to jealousy and an over active imagination.

The truth was that if you weren't rich or famous you got little respect from others aboard Spaceship Hollywood. One tenth of the passengers were classified as crew. They had jobs in the city and were technically citizens but they didn't get the same respect as the guests.

That was why Mr. Busk had decided to take matters into his own hands. He and his assistant Lola had visited Lady Penelope for an interview. They had hoped to find out about the Headz but they got little useful information. The following day Lola had disappeared.

It had been a week since her disappearance and the police refused to do anything about it. After being forced to leave police HQ he'd decided to seek help elsewhere. He posted signs around town and put an ad in the paper. He also contacted the families of other missing persons. He had made up his mind to find the connection between Lady Penelope and the missing women.

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><p>Doctor POV<p>

The Doctor had taken Grace to the local library. They were looking through the online records for anything that could have anything to do with the heads. Most of the information was useless gossip, articles on the surgery, or ads. It was starting to look like there wasn't anything abnormal about the Headz, except for the fact that they were removable heads.

The Doctor was about to give up the search and offer to show Grace around the city when she called him over to her information station. "Look at this" She pulled up a number of missing posters. "Notice what they all have in common?" She asked. The Doctor studied the screen for a moment. "All female, between the ages of 20 and 40, all seem to fit the standards of beauty that you apes cherish so much." This comment earned him a punch in the arm from Grace. "Oi! I'm not an ape!" She complained.

"You missed a few things. Look at the dates, they've all gone missing within the past three years. That's how long the Headz surgery has been available. It's also how long Lady Penelope Lennon has been in the eyes of the media. Another thing, I've looked them all up. They all had some form of contact with Penelope prior to their disappearances. Usually one to two weeks before hand." Grace informed him.

The Doctor stood, pulling the keyboard towards him so he could reach it to type. "Not all of them." He informed Grace. "Look at this. Lola King, been missing for one week now, seemingly no connection to Lady Penelope." Grace grinned at him, as if accepting his challenge. She stood and snatched the keyboard back from him and quickly pulled up a newspaper article and a website.

"The keyword there is seemingly." She pointed to the article. "Lady Penelope Lennon: The Woman Behind the Headz. An interview by Thomas Busk." She clicked on the man's name and a profile popped up. "Thomas Busk is a reporter for the local newspaper." She said turning to face him "Turns out that Lola King is Mr. Busk's assistant." She announced.

The Doctor realized that they were standing extremely close, inches apart really. Grace seemed to realize it too because she quickly sat back down. He quickly followed suit. Grace closed the page with the news article and focused on the other website. "Mr. Busk started this we page two days ago. It's basically a bunch of information on Lady Penelope, the missing girls, and how they might be connected." She scrolled down to the bottom of the page. "There's contact information here. He's asking anyone with any information to contact him."

The Doctor nodded. He reached for the keyboard "we'll send him a message." Grace slapped his hand away. "Not so fast. I found him I get to type." The Doctor frowned. "You are the companion. You've got to do what I say." Grace shook her head, her red curls bouncing around her face. "Sorry. Not gonna happen." She told him. "Grace! It could be a trap!" He insisted. "That's the stupidest excuse I've ever heard." Grace exclaimed.

Before he could respond someone tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave." He turned to see one of the librarians standing behind him. "But ma'am." Grace began quietly. "Out!" The woman exclaimed, swatting at them with a magazine. "Okay! Okay!" The Doctor grabbed Graces hand, previous argument forgotten, pulling her to her feet and out of the library.

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><p>Rose POV<p>

"Sorry about shouting at you." The Doctor said as they walked down the street. "Me too. I was a little bitchy." She admitted. "Probably deserved it." He smiled at her, squeezing her hand. "All forgiven?" She nodded, grinning up at him. "Forgiven."

Rose had enjoyed the investigative research. It reminded her somewhat of when she'd first met the Doctor. When she'd gone to a man named Clive for information. Thinking back on it Clive's theories were very close to the truth. At the time she'd thought he was mad. Funny how things work out. "It's just too bad we didn't get to contact Mr. Busk." The Doctor said bringing her back to the present. She smiled smugly at him. "On the contrary." She handed him a slip of paper on which she'd written down the contact information.

"Good job Grace! Brilliant! That's what you are! Absolutely brilliant!" In his excitement The Doctor picked her up and spun her around in a circle like she weighed nothing. He set her down so that her feet were touching the ground, although his hands were still on her waist. In an effort to steady herself she had placed her hands on his shoulders. They stood there for a second staring at each other. Rose realized that her mouth was hanging open, she quickly shut it, biting her lip to keep from making a whimpering noise. She could feel herself beginning to blush.

Rose quickly removed her hands from The Doctors shoulders. This seemed to snap him out of his trance because he quickly let go of her waist. "Right. Let's go then. Got to arrange a meeting with Mr. Busk." Rose nodded silently. She kept reminding herself that what seemed like a romantic gesture to her wasn't necessarily a romantic gesture to him. She repeated this over and over in her head. Even so, she couldn't keep her hearts from beating faster than usual

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><p>Rose waited outside the phone booth while The Doctor the Doctor called Mr. Busk. When she had agreed on the one trip she had told herself that she wouldn't let any feelings she may have had for The Doctor wouldn't be a problem this time around. This was proving easier said than done. The incident earlier had left her breathless, something that her new biology should have prevented. She had to face the fact that she was still in love with The Doctor. "Maybe I should just quit right now." She said quietly to herself. She reminded herself that this was her last trip. If she backed out one she would never forgive herself.<p>

"Come on then Grace. I've arranged a meeting with Mr. Busk in an hour." The Doctor announced as he exited the phone booth. "Looks strange to see you coming out of a box that isn't blue." Rose remarked, earning a grin from The Doctor. "Come on then. Don't wanna be late." He said, grabbing her hand. "Allonsy!"

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><p><strong>AN: Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for all of the people who've favorited, followed, and reviewed. You guys are the best. Feel free to PM me with suggestions for what should happen next. I've run out of pre written stuff for now. **

**Remember to R&R! **

** Love, Eva **


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight: in Which A Party is Attended and Some Snooping is Done

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><p>Rose POV<p>

The Doctor had decided to let Rose do the talking. (Actually Rose had insisted she do the talking saying that she didn't want him telling any more people they were married and The Doctor had agreed t avoid another argument) Now she was regretting making this decision because she had to deal with the woman behind the desk.

"Hi! my name is Jessica. Welcome to the Spaceship Hollywood Newspaper offices. How may I help you?" Jessica was tall and blonde with blue eyes and a startlingly white smile. Her hair was pulled back into a perfectly smooth ponytail, her makeup was perfectly applied, and there wasn't a wrinkle to be found in her blue pantsuit. Rose opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by Jessica. "Hold on dear." She said, pressing a button on her earpiece. "I've gotta take this call."

Rose waited impatiently while Jessica chatted away into her headset, her manicured nails clicking against her keyboard as she set up an appointment for whoever was on the other end of the call. Finally she turned her attention back to Rose. "How may I help you?" She asked cheerfully.

"Hi. We've got an appointment to see Mr Busk." Rose gestured over towards The Doctor wh was scanning the floating fountain in the corner with his sonic screwdriver. "It should be under the name Smith." Jessica smiled at her and typed something on her keyboard, presumably the name Smith. "Yes I see. Right here. Unfortunately Mr. Busk has stepped out at the moment. He'll be back soon though. You're welcome to wait for him in his office. It's right down the hall." Rose thanked her and motioned for The doctor to follow her to Mr Busk's office.

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><p>Doctor POV<p>

There was only one problem when it came to Mr. Busk's office, other than the fact that it was terribly dull office wise, which was that there was only one chair. The Doctor had immediately offered it to Grace, who had insisted he should have it because she would much rather stand. This led to an argument over who should take the chair.

"It's only polite!" The Doctor insisted. "You should take the chair, you're the lady." This statement sent Grace into a rant about how if he didn't think she could fend for herself than why had he invited her along in the first place?

"Excuse me! Am I interrupting something?" Both The Doctor and Grace spun around to see a man standing in the doorway. He was tall, with mousey brown hair and green eyes. A pair of spectacles was perched on his nose and he had a stack of papers in his arms. The Doctor shook his head. "Nope. Not at all. You must be Thomas." He said quickly. The man nodded. "Take a seat." He said, setting the papers down on top of the filing cabinet.

Both he and Grace tried to sit in the chair at the same time. This left Grace perched precariously on the arm of the chair, practically sitting in his lap for the second time since he'd invited her to travel with him. "Thomas Busk. You must be Doctor Smith." Mr. Busk said, extending his hand. "Yes. This is my assistant Grace." The Doctor said, shaking Mr. Busk's hand. "You're here about the Headz aren't you?" Thomas asked. "We thought they seemed suspicious." Grace said before The Doctor could even open his mouth. Thomas nodded grimly. "Exactly. I'm almost positive that the recent disappearances are linked to Lady Penelope." He explained.

"We've been looking into the subject. There's definitely something to your theory." The Doctor began. "But there's not enough proof to make anyone believe it." Grace finished for him. "I've got a plan. But I'll need you two to help pull it off." Thomas explained. "Oh! A plan. Love a good plan. Let's hear it then." The Doctor said jovially. He and Grace listened intently as Thomas explained the plan to them.

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><p>Rose POV<p>

Rose was no stranger to dressing up. She'd spent a year and a half in Pete's World where she was the Vitex heiress. That had meant attending a lot of parties, and parties meant dressing up. Her mum had taken to it at once, living in a mansion, hosting parties, having servants to do things for her, but Rose hadn't ever quite gotten used to it. Thomas's plan was making her uncomfortable. Not homesick, that wasn't the right word, Pete's world hadn't really been her home. But she missed her family more than ever now.

She had to admit The Doctor looked good in a tux. That almost made the whole plan worth it. Almost, but not quite. Lady Penelope was hosting a party and they were posing as guests. The party was black tie, requiring them to dress up. Rose hadn't thought anything of it until they'd stepped out of the limousine and she was standing in front of the main staircase that led up to the front door of the Lennon estate. She wanted to turn back now more than ever, but The Doctor and Thomas were counting on her. So she held her head high and fought back her tears. She'd only have to make it through one night.

The party was just like any of the parties that Jackie Tyler had hosted during Roses stay in Pete's World. Needless to say Rose found it incredibly boring. It was held in a grand ballroom near the center of the mansion. Despite it's size the room was still full of people. Guests wandered around, talking about who knows what and nibbling at the tiny cookies and sandwiches that were being brought around on platters. At least I'm not staffing the party. This time. Rose thought to herself.

"Look Grace! Nibbles!" The Doctor exclaimed. Rose had just enough time to process what he had said before she was being pulled across the room, towards the nearest tray of 'nibbles'. She rolled her eyes as she watched The Doctor stuff ten of the little crestless sandwiches into his mouth. "You know stuffing them all in your mouth like that defeats the purpose." She told him. "Dpeets wut purpuss?" The Doctor asked, mouth still full, spewing crumbs everywhere. Rose laughed, using her handkerchief to wipe some crumbs off of his face. "They're called nibbles for a reason."

Once The Doctor had finished eating the nibbles they got down to business. They were there for a reason, to uncover evidence. "Doctor?" Rose asked, suddenly seeing a possible flaw in the plan. "How do we know which one is Lady Penelope?" The Doctor gave her his best 'you just dribbled on your shirt' look. "Weren't you listening? She'll be wearing her tiara. She always is." Right then. Just gotta look for the lady in the crown. Rose thought to herself. Shouldn't be too hard.

It wasn't too hard at all. In fact it was positively easy. Because, at that exact moment, Lady Penelope decided to make her grand entrance. "Ladies and Gentlemen. Your Hostess. Lady Penelope Lennon!" Rose turned quickly to look as a young woman with long silvery blonde hair and bright blue eyes entered the room. On her head there was a beautiful diamond tiara. She smiled graciously and made her way into the crowd. Unlike other guests who had arrived throughout the evening, she did not blend in with the crowd. Rose could always pinpoint exactly where she was. It was slightly unnerving.

After an hour of snooping around and making pointless small talk they were finally approached by Lady Penelope herself. Rose had been listening to The Doctor talk to some businessman about stocks or something of the sort when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Lady Penelope standing right behind her. "Lady Penelope!" She exclaimed, startled. Lady Penelope simply smiled at her. "I don't believe we've met. What kind of hostess would I be if I didn't introduce myself? What is your name?" She asked. Her voice was soft and soothing. Rose immediately felt safe, like nothing could go wrong, nothing could hurt her if a lady Penelope was there. She let out a soft, contented sigh.

She hadn't realized The Doctor was beside her until her pinched her arm, effectively snapping her out of her trance. "Don't let her get to you." He whispered sharply. "Hello. I'm The Doctor, and this is Ms. Grace Rhodes" he addressed Lady Penelope. "Very nice to meet you." Lady Penelope's voice was sweet but Rose caught a glint of anger in her eyes. "I hope you are enjoying yourselves." Rose nodded. "The party is very lovely." She said, smiling. Lady Penelope nodded. "I will speak with you later. I've other guests to greet." And with that she was gone, slipping past them to talk to another group of party goers.

As soon as Lady Penelope was out of their sight The Doctor grabbed Graces arm and steered her out of the ballroom and into a hallway. They down the hallway until they came to a coat closet into which The Doctor shoved her. "Imagine if someone saw us." Rose commented as he soniced the doorknob. The Doctor didn't reply. "Okay. Answer time. What the hell was that?" Rose asked, referring to the hypnotic effect of talking to Lady Penelope. "That was how she lures in her victims." The Doctor said. "She makes them feel safe, like they can trust her, and then BAM! Off with their heads!" He frowned. "I just don't understand how she does it."

"Are we going to investigate?" Rose asked hopefully. "I am going to investigate. You are going back to that party to cover for me." The Doctor said. Rose didn't want to go back to the party. She'd much rather go with him. But he was right, he would need cover. She'd just have to suffer for the greater good. It was just a party after all.

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><p><strong>AN: So sorry for the long wait. I hadn't planned any of that chapter so it took longer to write. I was breifly plagued with writers block but I know where this is headed now so hopefully I'll be getting chapters out faster now. From now on I'll be posting updates and announcements about the story on my profile. So look there or PM me for more information on upcoming chapters. **

**Thank you for sticking with this story so far. Please Read and Reveiw.**

**-Eva **


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine: In Which The Lights Go Out and Rose Makes a Choice

Rose POV

When Rose re-entered the ballroom it was like she'd never left. She slipped back into the crowd, thinking that one had noticed her. That was until she made eye contact with Lady Penelope. The icy glare that the heiress was giving her told Rose that Penelope somehow knew what she and The Doctor were there for. It only confirmed their suspicions that Lady Penelope was up to something.

Doctor POV

The Doctors investigation took him to the sleeping quarters of Lady Penelope. An entire wing of the mansion was devoted to her bedroom, her closets, and her Headz collection. The wing was separated from the rest of the house by a set of double doors. They were locked, but that had never stopped The Doctor. He simply soniced the lock and snuck inside. He found himself at the end of a rather long hallway, with another set of double doors at the end. He quietly made his way towards the far end of the hallway, passing the many doors that lined either side.

Occasionally The Doctor would pause and read the plaque next to the door. For example, the first room he came upon read 'Summer Wardrobe'. Across the hall there was 'winter wardrobe'. Further along there were countless other rooms. Including 'gloves' 'sleepwear' 'hats' 'makeup' 'shoes' 'swimwear' and many others. Not one plaque read Headz. When he reached the end of the hall The Doctor paused in front of the double doors. He assumed this must be her bedroom. So far there was no sign of her precious collection. With a sigh he soniced open the doors and entered the room.

Immediately he found what he was looking for. There was a bed in the middle of the room. That was the only thing remotely bedroom about Lady Penelope's bedroom. The room was lined with heads. Each one sitting on its one little pedestal sitting on the counter in front of its own personal mirror. The walls were lined with mirrors, each with a little stool in front of it so that Lady Penelope could sit and look at herself in the mirror. The Doctor could see a doorway leading into a second head lined room.

As if that weren't creepy enough they were all looking at him.

The Doctor stumbled backwards and collided into someone. It was then that he realized he'd been followed. Before he knew it there was a hand clamped over his mouth and a small voice was whispering in his ear. "You shouldn't be here sir. You and your lady friend is in great danger. You're lucky I found you before someone else could I reckon. Anyone but me would have your hide. Especially the Lady. You are in big trouble now." The stranger told him "What kind of trouble?" He asked. "It's a long story sir." The stranger, who was clearly a girl, told him. "You'd better get to telling it then." The Doctor replied.

Her name was Simone and she was a prisoner. She had begun working at the estate two years ago. Not even a week after she started she saw something she wasn't supposed too. A kidnapping. "I was just leaving for the night when I heard a commotion in the main hall. It was late so I was curious as to what it was." So she hid behind a statue and watched. "I could make out four figures. Two of em were big brutish men who is never seen before. One was the Lady. I could tell just by looking at her, the way she holds herself, like she's so much better than the rest of us." The Doctor nodded, that was what made Lady Penelope stand out in the ballroom, she practically oozed self-confidence. "The two men were escortin' a young woman down the hallway. She was kicking and screaming all the way so I knew something was wrong."

Simone stopped talking, clamping her hand back over The Doctors mouth. He could hear footsteps in the distance. When they had faded she resumed her story. "I followed them. I wanted to know what they were doing. Cuz I knew that it had to be bad from the way the girl was crying and carrying on." The girl had been one of Lady Penelope's unfortunate victims. "They took her to a room I'd never been in before. Found out later that's where the surgery takes place. The one to remove their heads. The lady gave her a choice. The easy way or the hard way. She could willingly give up her head and she'd receive a new one in return, or she could refuse." The Doctor frowned. "What would happen if she refused?" He asked. "They'd take her head anyway and she'd be disposed of." Simone said, confirming what The Doctor had already assumed.

Simone went on to tell about how she had been discovered snooping and that because of this she was being kept prisoner. "Why not just take your head as well?" The Doctor asked. "I'm not old enough. You've gotta be at least twenty." Simone explained. "Why are you telling me this?" The Doctor asked. "Because that's why you're here. You're in great danger because of it." Simone told him eyes wide. "The Lady has her sights set on her next victim. There ain't nothin that can stop her once she's picked her next victim." The Doctor shook his head. "Who is it? Who's she after?" Simone shook her head. "You don't wanna know sir." She said. "Tell me!" He insisted. "Your friend sir. The girl named Grace. And I'm afraid you're too late to stop her."

Rose POV

The party Got a lot less boring when the lights went out. One second everyone was talking and laughing. Then the lights flickered once, twice, three times before going out completely, submerging the room in darkness. Ladies began to scream and Rose could hear glass shattering somewhere fairly close to her. People were panicking, someone was bound to get hurt in the darkness.

Rose couldn't see a thing. Right now there was probably some poor lady being dragged away to have her head removed. Rose shivered at the thought. She needed some light. Back on the TARDIS, when she'd been getting dressed for the party, she'd found a bigger-on-the-inside clutch. She'd moved the contents of her purse into it, including the torch she'd used to battle that shadow monster. She reached into the clutch, feeling around for it, it had to be there somewhere. There! She'd found it. Before she could pull it out of the clutch she was grabbed from behind.

Rose dropped the clutch in surprise as a hand covered her mouth. A strong pair of arms was wrapped around her waist and she was picked up off the ground. She struggled, trying to free herself, but the grip was too strong. A damp cloth was pressed over her nose. That was the last thing she remembered before she blacked out.

When she came to Rose found herself strapped to an operating table. There was someone standing over her. Rose tried to place the face but everything was a bit woozy. How had she even gotten here? "Sleeping Beauty wakes." The woman said. Even though her tone was icy

And cruel she still managed to sound so bloody nice, which didn't make any sense. Rose recognized that voice. She groaned and tried to sit up. "What do you want from me Penelope?" She asked. "Information?" Lady Penelope laughed. "Don't flatter yourself. I knew of your plans all along. I need no information. What I want from you is your head."

Doctor POV

Something was wrong. People were screaming, and not the good kind of screaming either. "It's started." Simone whispered. The Doctor stared at her. "What has? What's started?" She shook her head. "I'm sorry sir. There's no saving your friend. No one can stop her now." The Doctor stood. "i do believe you're wrong. There is definitely a chance for Grace." He informed Simone. The girl looked up at him, clearly confused. "What do you mean?" She asked. "Oh it's quite simple really. You've said no one can stop Lady Penelope. Well, She hasn't met me yet."

Rose POV

Lady Penlope had kidnapped Rose, drugged her, tied her to a table, and now she wanted Rose to give up her head. Well, at least Rose had a bloody choice. She could willingly give Penelope her head and receive a new one as payment, or she could refuse and they would take her head anyway. Either way Lady Penelope won. Okay it wasn't much of a choice, but at least she had one.

"Tick tock Grace! Time is running out. Make your choice." Penelope sing-songed. Rose rolled her eyes. "You know what? I'm quite a fan of this new face, I'm really starting to like it, so I'd rather not let you have it." Rose said, hopefully sounding way more confident than she felt. Lady Penelope sighed. "I didn't want to do this. I hate being the villain." She turned to address on of her henchmen. "Sedate her."

Rose struggled against her binds, trying to break free. She shut her eyes tight as she felt a needle poke her in the arm. She focused on staying conscious, hoping that her new superior biology would keep her awake. She opened one eye to see Lady Penelope preparing the machine. It looked like a cross between a pizza cutter and a laser. She shivered inwardly as she imagined that slicing through her neck. Someone, she wasn't quite sure who, lifted her head and fastened some sort of collar around her neck.

Rose was about to give in to the darkness that was creeping into the edges of her mind when The Doctor burst into the room. It was like she was watching it happen in slow motion. She heard Lady Penelope yelling at her goons to seize him. Saw him being restrained. Heard him shouting her new name over and over. "Grace! No! Stop this! no!" Then she Couldn't keep her eyes open. Slowly she slipped into a deep, death-like, sleep.

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><p>AN: Dun dun dunnnnn. How do you like the cliffhanger? Don't worry. The Doctor will save the day. If he isnt disposed of as well. Mwahahaha.

Okay. I'm done being evil (For now). I'll have the next chapter up before school starts for me. After that updates will most likely be longer.

A big thank you to everyone who has favorited/followed this story. It's gotten over 4 thousand veiws! That's amazing guys. Thank you for sticking with me through this.

Remember to Read and Reveiw

-Eva


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter 10: In Which Grace is Saved **

Doctor POV

The Doctor had to be forcefully removed from the operating room. Lady Penelope's goons dragged him down a hallway and into a small room. More of a cell really seeing as they handcuffed him to the wall. Then they left, locking the door behind them. He was left hanging from the wall by his wrists, shouting threats at the door.

He'd let Grace down. This wasn't like how he'd lost Martha in New New York. At least there had been a chance of getting Martha back. There was no saving Grace now. This wasn't like pshychograft where the invading consciousness took over the brain by simply pushing the second consciousness aside. This was murder. Grace was gone, just alike the others. Another name to add to a long list of lives he'd ruined, right after Martha and Rose.

This was not a good road to be going down. The Doctor needed to focus. He had to find a way out of this cell and stop Penelope. He definitely shouldn't be thinking about Rose. His Rose. His beautiful, wonderful, compassionate, pink and yellow human. The Doctor should definitely not be remembering just how amazingly wonderful Rose Tyler was.

The Doctor should not be reminiscing about holding Roses hand, or about running with her, remembering how beautiful she looked when she smiled, or the look she got on her face whenever she caught her first glimpse of some new alien world. Memory's were flooding his mind now. The panicked look in Roses eyes as her fingers slipped from the lever and she was pulled towards the void. Screaming her name as he watched her slip through his fingers. Broken promises and things left unsaid. Above all he shouldn't find himself wishing she were here with him right now. Oh but he did. The Doctor needed Rose Tyler here right now more than ever, because if Rose were here she would know what to do.

Rose POV

Rose didn't know what to do. She had no idea where she was nor did she remember what had happened or how she had gotten there. She was pretty sure that it had something to do with Lady Penelope, but she was too tired to remember properly. She was very sleepy, and right now she wanted to go back to sleep and not worry about the loss of her head.

Suddenly it hit her. She'd lost her head! Rose sat up quickly; She was completely awake now. She was in a small room that was painted white. Every inch of the walls, floors, and ceiling was stark white. She quickly scrambled to her feet; noticing happily that she had feet. "Hello?" There was no response. Rose had a feeling that something strange was happening. She just hadn't figured it out yet.

Rose sighed and absentmindedly brushed a lock of blonde hair out of her face. Then she froze, reaching up tentatively to feel her hair. "No way!" She gasped turning around in search of a mirror. As soon as she thought of a mirror one appeared on the wall in front of her. "No way." She had expected to see the green eyed, red haired, Grace Rhodes. Instead staring back at her from the mirror was a rather startled looking Rose Tyler.

Doctor POV

The Doctor didn't bother keeping track of how long he had been in the cell. His arms hurt from hours of hanging on the wall and he kept slipping between consciousness and unconsciousness. Finally, after what seemed like hours, someone entered the small room. It was the maid from earlier. The Doctor couldn't recall her name but he wondered if she had come to gloat. She'd been right about Grace after all. Then he noticed she was carrying a tray of food. Not gloating then, must be breakfast time. He'd been hanging there all night.

There was a loud bang and the door slammed shut behind Simone. As soon as she was sure they were alone Simone tossed the tray aside. The Doctor stared at her, she hadn't been bring breakfast after all then. "Why are you here?" He asked, rather grumpily. "Hello to you too sir." Simone quipped. "Why are you here?" The Doctor repeated. Instead of answering Simone began unbuttoning her dress.

"What are you! Stop that! Simone!" The Doctor struggled to free himself from the handcuffs. "Relax sir." Simone said calmly, reaching down the front of her dress and pulling out a key. "Will you stop struggling?" She said sharply. The Doctor stopped moving and let her unlock him. "Why are you here?" He repeated. "I'm here to help you escape." Simone told him, gesturing to the handcuffs. "And to give you this." She reached back down her dress and pulled out a small silicone chip, holding it in her hand for T Doctor to see. "I saved your friend." She said proudly.

The Doctor stared at the small square of plastic. "What is that?" Simone smiled. "It's a personality chip. It downloads the mind of a human being into itself. A removable memory chip, like a backup. That's how the Headz work. You need a chip. This is Graces" She explained, pressing the chip that held The Doctors companion into his palm. "It's really her? This is really Grace?" He asked. Simone nodded. "Yes Doctor. Grace has been saved."

A/N: So sorry for the wait. From now on since school has started I'll try to update every Saturday. If possible I'll update during the week as well.

I can't believe this story has over six thousand views. Thank you thank you thank you! I really couldn't do this without you guys. Remember to read and review. I always love hearing what you guys have to say. What do you want to happen next?


	12. Chapter Eleven

Chapter 11: In which The Doctor Does Some Important Tinkering

"You'll have to go on without me from here sir." The Doctor was surprised to hear Simone say this. Until she held up her arm for him to see. "They've cuffed me." Around Simone's wrist was s silver cuff. The Doctor didn't have to scan it to know that it was impossible for him to remove. The controls were isometric. Just like the cuffs that he'd used on Blon the Slitheen so long ago. If Simone left the house she would be electrocuted.

Simone unlocked the door of the cell and pushed it open. "I'll hold them off as long as possible." She told The Doctor. Then she stood up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek. "You'll rescue her. I know you will. I just wish someone loved me that much. Grace is very lucky." Before The Doctor could protest she was shoving him out the door and down the hall: yelling at him to run for his life.

Simone POV

Simone watched The Doctor running down the hallway until he turned the corner and was out of sight. She knew she would never see him again. When Lady Penelope found her she would kill her. At least she knew she would die helping thwart her captor. She could hear footsteps coming closer "I'm sorry mother." She whispered "I'm afraid I wont be home for dinner. I've let you down." Lady Penelope rounded the corner, flanked by her two henchmen. "Well then." The blue grey eyes of one of her many heads glinted woth cruel anger. Anger that didn't belong on that face. "What do you have to say for yourself?" Simone lunged at her captor "Go to hell." She screamed. Lady Penelope grabbed her flailing arm and twisted it. Spots danced in front of Simone's eyes as pain flooded her system. "Finish her off." Lady Penelope ordered.

Doctor POV

The Doctor heard Simone's screams echoing through the mansion as he ran for his life. He didn't dare stop or look back even as he heard a sickening crunch and the screams came to a terrifyingly abrupt stop. "I'm so sorry Simone." He whispered. Then he was running out the door and scaling the fence to freedom. His feet pounded against the sidewalk as he ran with Grace's identity chip clutched in his fist. "I will remember you." He promised

Thomas' POV

Mr. Thomas Busk had been waiting outside the police box on fifth street for the past three hours. It was their rendezvous point. The rendezvous in question should've taken place three hours ago, but he had been instructed to wait five and a half hours in case they got held up. Thomas was just beginning to worry when The Doctor rounded the corner. He spotted Thomas and hurried over.

"Thank goodness Doctor. I was afraid that something had happened to you." Thomas said. Then he noticed that The Doctor was alone "Where's Grace?" He asked, dreading the answer to his question. His heart sunk as The Doctor reached into his jacket and pulled out a small computer chip. "I'm so sorry." The Doctor shook his head "I'm going to save her." he promised. Thomas was almost convinced that it was possible; even though he knew it wasn't

It became much easier for Thomas to believe in the impossible when he stepped into the Doctor's blue box. "Yes its bigger on the inside. No time to explain. You wouldn't understand it anyway." The Doctor announced as he rushed across the console room. Thomas was standing in the doorway staring slack jawed at the interior of the TARDIS. "You-you're an alien."

"Yes now shut the door." The Doctor ordered. Thomas reluctantly did as he was told. "What are you doing?" he demanded as he watched The Doctor lift a section of grating and rummage under it. "Something Clever. Now shut up." The Doctor replied. He pulled out a large trunk stamped with the letter G and began to sift through it's contents. "G for Genie, G for George Washington, G for George Harrison, G for Greek Gods, G for Golden Compass, G for Gollum, G for Goat, G for Garden Gnome, G for Gryffindor, G for Global Positioning System!" The Doctor triumphantly pulled a GPS from within the trunk. "That's just what we need."

Despite The Doctor ordering him to shut up Thomas spoke anyway. "Why do you need a GPS?" he asked. "So I can do this!" The Doctor tore off the back panel of the device. He whipped out his sonic screwdriver and began to tinker. Thomas watched as he tore out the programming chip along with quite a few wires. "With a bit of jiggery pokery I should be able to convert this so that its compatible with the chip." The Doctor said absent mindedly. He kept on tinkering, removing wires and putting them back in complicated twisting patterns.

Finally The Doctor seemed to deem his work satisfactory. He pulled Grace's personality chip from his pocket and wired into the circuitry. Then he replaced the back panel and pressed the on button. The screen flashed to life. Both men waited in absolute silence, praying that the device would work. After a few seconds a tentative voice came from the speakers. "D-doctor? Is that you?"

**A/N: Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn! I bet you guys love me right now. Its been forever since I updated and I leave you with a cliffhanger. Not to worry I will get chapter twelve up ASAP. I swear on fish fingers and custard. **

**Thank you all so much for being so very supportive. I love hearing what you think and getting feedback from you guys. Please feel free to PM me about this story. Remember to Read and Review. **

-**Eva**


	13. Chapter Twelve

Chapter 12 In Which Our Heroes Devise a Plan

Rose POV

Rose had bee trapped in the small room for what seemed like hours. She wasn't hungry, or thirsty, or even sleepy. If anything she was confused. Greatly confused. No matter how much she thought about it she couldn't explain how she had suddenly reverted back into her former self.

Rose wasn't sure how long she sat there by herself before anything happened. All of a sudden sparks flew out of the wall opposite her and she cold hear the familiar buzz of a sonic screwdriver. On the wall in front of her a screen appeared. It was crackling with static but she could hear faint voices.

Suddenly the picture on the screen became very clear. She could see both The Doctor and the reporter Thomas Busk. She waited a moment before speaking "D-doctor is that you?" She asked. The Doctors face broke into a grin. "It worked! Hello Grace." He waved at her cheerfully. "Where am I?" She asked him. "About that. I'm afraid you're not quite yourself. At the moment."

Doctor POV

"You put me in a what?!" The Doctor flinched as Grace's shrill scream burst from the speakers of the small device she was located in. "She took that better than I thought." He said quietly to Thomas. "Doctor you'd better het me my body back." Grace warned him. "Or what?" Thomas asked "you can't exactly hurt him. You're stuck in a machine."

The Doctor had to be impressed by how much contempt Grace managed to convey in the silence "Don't worry Grace. We've got a plan." If it were possible for a GPS to glare that was certainly what The Doctor was experiencing at the moment. "Define plan." Grace said. "Well. I've got part of a plan. It's more of a concept to be honest." The Doctor admitted.

"Doctor exactly how much of a plan do you have?" Grace asked. "About twenty percent." The Doctor admitted. "You've got twenty percent of a plan?" Grace exclaimed angrily. "That is not a plan. That isn't even one forth of a plan! How the hell are you going to get me my body back with less than a forth of a plan?" Thomas cleared his throat. "One forth of a plan is better than no plan."

"Yes! See Grace? Thomas is looking on the bright side of things." The Doctor said cheerfully. "Thomas isn't stuck in a bleedin' GPS is he? Just shut up and figure out a real plan." Grace snapped. The Doctor nodded. "Of course. Will do."

Rose POV

Rose regretted yelling at The Doctor as soon as the words had left her mouth. Before he'd diedshe wouldn't have gotten so angry with him. It was like she'd changed into a completely different person. She had turned into a completely different person. There was no denying the fact. When The Doctor had regenerated she'd still been able to tell it was him. Over time she'd been able to see more and more of the old him over time. It was still there. Now she was beginning to see less and less of her old self. She didn't know who she was anymore

Doctor POV

"Here's the plan. Grace, you and I will enter through the back exit. We wait until Thomas distracts them with his protest. Then we sneak in, get photographic evidence, and send it to the police. Once we've done that we get the hell out of there." The Doctor paused before adding. "How's that for a plan?" He received no reply. In fact, he could hear what sounded like someone typing on a keyboard.

"Hold on. Wait just one moment. Were you even listening to a word of that?" The Doctor asked. "Yes." Grace still managed to sound offended,even though her voice sounded tinny and robotic. "Really? Because it sounded like you were typing. What were you even typing on?" He asked. "I was listening." Grace reassured him. "Sneak in through the back. Take photos. Blah blah blah. Get the hell out of there."

There was a pause in which she seemed to type some more. "You asked what I thought. Honestly I think your plan is flawed. Take a look a look at this." A map appeared on the screen of the GPS. "It that?" The Doctor began. Grace cut him off before he could finish his question. "The floor plan of a the Lennon Estate? Because that's what it is." The Doctor beamed. "Grace you are brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" He told her. "I know." She said smugly. "Now, let me show you what I think we should do."

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><p><strong>AN I'm so so sorry for not updating regularly. I totally suck. I love each and every one if you guys for sticking with me and leaving such kind reviews. I love getting your feedback. Please feel free to tell me if there's anything that happens in the story you don't like or what you think should happen next. ****Next week is fall break for me so I'll be sure to post at least one chapter. **

**Thank you all so much for being so supportive. I couldn't be doing all this without all of the support I've gotten from my friends (both online and I real life) and family. You have no idea how much this means to me. It really mans a lot. **

**Remember to read and Reveiw. Tell me what you thought of the chapter. **


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Rose POV

"I still don't see why we couldn't just park the TARDIS on the roof." Rose complained. "I never take the TARDIS into battle." The Doctor told her, "Anyone could get their hands on it, and we wouldn't want that would we?" Rose could think of plenty of times where the TARDIS had been smack dab in the middle of the action. She once again had to remind herself that Grace Rhodes wouldn't know of these occasions because Grace Rhodes was new to al this, and she only got one trip.

"Why are you complaining anyway?" The Doctor asked, "You didn't even have to climb up here." Rose sighed, "Yes, but you did, and you almost dropped me twice." She told him. the Doctor was sitting on the rooftop of the sprawling mansion. He and Rose were waiting for the riot to start downstairs. Neither of them had anything to amuse themselves with, and after an awkwardly long pause Rose broke the tension by speaking.

"Doctor?" He looked up quickly, "Yes Grace?" She took a deep breath. "Can you see me?" Rose didn't know why she asked. Clearly he couldn't see her. If he could then he wouldn't be calling her Grace. "Why do you want to know?" Rose wasn't quite sure how to respond. She couldn't exactly tell him the truth. "Oh no reason. I just look a bit...younger." She paused, "Any idea why?" She might as well figure out why she'd reverted back to her previous body; even though technically she wasn't even in her body.

"Oh thats easy." The Doctor seemed relieved to have something to explain. "You've probably just taken on whatever form you picture yourself as in your mind." It made sense to Rose. She'd been hoping for something more permanent. Wishful thinking of course.

Penelope POV

"Oh you are beautiful aren't you." Penelope cooed. She stroked the long raven locks of her current head. She'd stolen this from her former maid. The girl had been so poor it was pathetic. A waste of a perfectly good head. Now she no longer needed it. Penelope liked the way that this face looked when it was angry, and right now Penelope was very angry. She'd let her guard down, her prisoner had escaped, and she'd underestimated the girl Simone. It was a such a rookie mistake. One she could't believe she had made.

A knock came from the door of her bedchamber. "I wonder who that is?" She thought aloud, "Come in!" She called. The door opened slowly and a scared looking man entered the room. "You called for me?" the man asked. He had thinning red hair and large watery eyes. A pair of wire rimmed glasses were perched on his slightly crooked nose. He looked extremely jumpy.

"Ahh yes. Come in Raymond, darling" Penelope purred, beckoning the man inside. "I want to talk to you." Raymond shuffled into the room, eyeing the countless heads cautiously, and sat down. "Raymond I am very displeased." Penelope told him. "Do you know why that is?" Raymond shook his head so vigorously his glasses almost flew from his face. "Raymond, when I appointed you as my head of security I knew I was taking a _big _risk. I trusted you, and you let me down. I'm assuming you know about the escaped prisoner?"

Raymond nodded again, "Yes Ma'am," He stuttered. "Then why was he allowed to escape!?" Penelope snapped. "I'm sorry. It was an accident, a minor slip-up. Penny please. We didn't notice until it was too late." Penelope glared at him."Don't call me that." She practically screamed. Raymond stared at her in wide eyed horror. "You are pathetic. You have always been pathetic. No second chances Raymond. Thats how it's always been. Mother was too soft on you."

Raymond cowered away from her, "Penny please. I want my sister back. Penny! Please don't" Penelope ignored his frantic blubbering. "I'm afraid I'm not sure what you're talking about. I'm nobody's sister. My brother died when I was very young." Raymond collapsed at her feet sobbing and begging for mercy. Penelope stared down at him with hatred in her eyes. Then with one swift movement she produced a knife, seemingly from thin air, and imbedded it into his back. The sobbing turned into a strangled gurgling noise, then ceased altogether. Penelope pulled the knife from her brother's back. "What a pity. I hate doing dirty work."

Rose POV

"Doctor?" Rose heard the timelord sigh loudly. His face appeared on screen, and Rose could tell he looked a bit annoyed, or was that worry in his eyes? "Yes Grace?" He asked, "I'm bored. Can you tell me a story?" She asked, "A story?" The Doctor said the word story as if it were the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. "Why do you want that?" Rose rolled her eyes again, even though she knew he couldn't see her. "I told you. I'm bored." She reminded him, "Come on. You've traveled loads of places. I bet you've got tons of stories." The Doctor frowned, "We are in the middle of a dangerous mission!" he told her, "Yeah and it's bloody boring." ROse complained, "So just tell me a story. Tell me about your friend. Martha was it? Which historical heart-throb did she get to meet?" The Doctor frowned at her. "I do not take companions on trips to meet historical heart-throbs!" there was a long pause before he added, "I was Shakespeare."

Roes grinned, remembering the time they'd met Charles Dickens at Christmastime and how he'd helped them defeat the ghost like Gelph. She wouldn't call him a heart-throb, but he certainly was historical. "I took her to see a play and we ended up defeating these Witch like aliens called Carrionites." The Doctor began explaining exactly what had happened with the Carrionites. Rose began to zone out for a bit. The calming sound of his voice was putting her to sleep. She started paying attention again when she heard her name.

"Then I told her that she'd made a mistake, because that is a name that keeps me fighting." The Doctor said. "Wait a second, what?" She couldn't have heard him right, "The name Rose keeps you fighting?" she asked him. The Doctor became extremely quiet. He nodded slowly, a sad look in his eyes. "Why?" she almost whispered. She was so afraid of the answer. The Doctor stayed silent. "Doctor..." He sighed, "That friend I mentioned earlier? Her name was Rose, and we were together."

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><p><strong>Authors Note: I'm so so sorry guys. I've been sooooo sooooo busy. I'm taking three AP classes this year and I've had a ton of homework. Especially in Algebra (I hate math) It's Christmas break now, and I've got a lot of time on my hands. Hope you guys like this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing evil Penelope. Remember to read and review. I always love hearing what you guys have to say. <strong>


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen: In Which We Learn Some Backstory

Penelope POV

She'd have to get a new head of security. That was the first thing that crossed Penelope's mind as she stepped carefully over her brother's dead body. "Raymond always was worthless." She told one of her nearby heads. It had always made her nervous keeping Raymond around. He wasn't her true brother (they had different fathers) but he'd known her secret. In fact he'd been the last person alive to know about it except her. She'd gotten rid of all the others.

"There has been a spillage in the bedchamber." Penelope informed the maid who she passed in the hallway. "Code b100d. Make sure it gets taken care of." The maid nodded and scampered away. Penelope smiled. She decided that she'd check to see if her new prize was ready. At least she'd managed to procure the girl's head. Today hadn't been a total failure.

She'd never like Raymond. He'd reminded her too much of their mother. He had her hair and watery blue eyes. Just like Penelope a long long time ago. Raymond was three years younger than she was. He'd been born out of wedlock, and nobody but their mother had known for years. Penelope had never liked being a big sister. She'd silently resented the spoiled, lazy brat that was her younger brother. Her older brother Nathaniel had also resented the child. He'd never said anything, but Penelope suspected that he'd known all along that Raymond was a little bastard.

Penelope's father was a soldier. He'd fought in the last great Cyber War. When Penelope was three he returned from the battlefield hardened and angry. He was prone to fits of rage, and if it hadn't been for Nathaniel he would've beaten Penelope to death within a year. At twelve years old he'd been the onl one who could temper their father's anger. If he couldn't calm him down then he'd use himself to sheild his beloved Penny from their father's harsh blows.

When Penelope was 10 Raymond's real father returned for the boy. Penelope's own father was outraged to discover that his wife (who he viewed as his property.) had been unfaithful. In his drunken rage he attacked the man who his wife had cheated on him with. The man's name was Tomas Harrison. Penelope's father strangled him with his bare hands. When killing him wasn't enough he turned on Penelope. He would've killed Penelope if it hadn't been for Nathaniel. He'd sacrificed himself to save Penelope. Both father and son had lost their lives in the vicious struggle.

Even then Penelope's once beautiful face was forever marred by an ugly scar that tore jaggedly from her left temple to her jaw line. That was why Penelope was obsessed with her heads. People had shied away from her because of her disfigurement. It had turned her heart cold and made her into the ruthless killer she was today. Out of her whole collection Penelope didn't own any red haired heads. She'd been searching for the perfect head to replace her own, and she'd found it. By now the head she'd stolen from Grace would be ready for her to wear.

Rose POV

"Tell me about her." Rose said quietly. She couldn't believe she was doing this. She was using him. Of course this was information about her, but this wasn't the way to go about getting said information. His guard was down, and Rose knew perfectly well that if The Doctor had known it was her he was talking to he would never be sharing his feelings like this. Rose didn't want to admit how much those feelings meant to her. Heck she'd crossed universes to make her way back to him. She'd told herself that she wasn't doing this for him, but what else did she have in this universe that she didn't have in the other one? Not much besides The Doctor and his blue box. She deserved more than just, "Rose Tyler you are brilliant!" Although, she had to admit she quite liked the sound of that.

"She was absolutely brilliant." Rose was torn from her thoughts when, to her great surprise, TheDoctor began to describe her. "Funny, Kind, intelligent, and beautiful. Although she really didn't see herself that way. She saved my life countless times, and in more than one way. She made me better." If she had eyes Rose was sure she'd be tearing up right now. Instead she quietly listened to him as he told her the story of how they met.

It was a story she'd heard hundreds of times. She'd lived through it of course, but she'd never heard it from his point of view. She'd just never thought to ask. "Imagine my surprise when I see that some silly, pink and yellow human girl had managed to get herself mixed up in my plans. I couldn't just leave her there, she was surrounded and would've been killed. I was the reason the Autons were even there, and it would be my fault if she died. I didn't want another life on my hands. So, being the heroic person I am I swooped in to the rescue."

The Doctor no longer seemed to be nervous about telling the story. His face lit up as he regaled her with tales from their past adventures. After a while Rose began to zone out. As interesting as listening to his side of the story was, she had already lived through every story he told. Cassandra and the end of the earth, Meeting Jack during WWII, he even mentioned Mickey by his proper name. It wasn't until he started to talk about Badwolf and the events at the Game Station that she began to pay proper attention again.

"I'd been there a hundred years before, back when it was Satellite 5. The human race should've gotten back on track by then, but they'd just gotten further off it. People getting zapped into those games without warning, and the people at home not doing anything about it. Just sitting in front of the Telly watching endless hours of reality tv." He explained. "Worst part about it was if you lost you died. Of course we managed to get caught up in the middle of it."

Rose remembered all too well. She'd found herself trapped in a game of "The Weakest Link." complete with a trigger happy Anne Droid. She'd most certainly been the weakest link, but she'd stayed in until the final round thanks to her fellow contestant Rodrick. He'd recognized her ineptitude and decided to keep her on. That way it would be an easy win. She'd lost the game but she hadn't died.

"You see they were really transmat beams. Losers were transported off of the station to a specific location in space." The Doctor was explaining. "So they didn't die?" Rose felt the need to ask. "Not immediately." The Doctor told her. "It turned out they were being transported onto a Dalek ship where they were being scrapped for parts. A new race of Daleks, and they had Rose with them." He said. "So Jack and I piloted the TARDIS onto the ship and saved her."

Rose remembered this. It was one of the most impressive things she'd ever seen him do. Even being trapped on a Dalek ship hadn't been too scary. She'd known that The Doctor would always come save her. Even after months of traveling with him she'd still been that nïave. She knew now that she couldn't always count on The Doctor to come save her. She wasn't a damsel in distress anymore. "Even then we still weren't safe. There was a whole fleet of Daleks about to attack the station, and the only way to stop them was to build a Delta Wave. The problem was a wave that size would take three days to build, and we only had 22 minutes. I wouldn't have time to properly adjust it."

Rose hadn't heard this bit before. She was filled with a strange sense of foreboding. "What does that mean?" She asked quietly. "Anyone within the wave's radius would get their brain fried. Including half of the earth." The Doctor told her. Rose didn't know what to say. She understood where he was coming from, a single fleet of Daleks could wreak havoc across the universe, but half of the earth's population seemed like a pretty large price to pay.

"I didn't want Rose to get hurt. If she died it would be my fault, and I couldn't have lived with that. Anyway, I'd promised her mother I'd keep her safe. So I tricked her. I got her inside the TARDIS by herself and I sent her home. If only she'd had the sense to stay there." Rose wanted to scream at him. Even then he hadn't understood that she'd rather die by his side than love without him. Even back then she'd cared about him that much. "I'm still not sure how she managed it, but she looked into the heart of the TARDIS. She absorbed part of the time vortex into her mind. It gave her incredible powers, she took out the whole fleet of Daleks by herself, but at the same time it was killing her."

Rose listened fascinatedly as he described the Badwolf entity. She barely remembered what had happened after she'd looked into the heart of the TARDIS. Sometimes she dreamed about it, but it was always disjointed images. The Doctor had avoided talking about it with her. "I had to remove the vortex from inside her." The Doctor explained. "It was going to kill her. It would kill me too, but I'd just regenerate. I never thought I'd be regenerating so quickly, that body was fairly new." He said regretfully. "It was worth it of course. I love this body. Especially the hair." Rose almost laughed out loud. She had to agree with him there.

"Where was I? Oh yes. I had to remove the vortex. It was rather impressive if I do say so myself." He said smugly. "I had a clever line and everything." He told her. "I think you need a Doctor." He said in an uncannily accurate impersonation of his former self. "And then I pulled her close and kissed her." He explained. "What?" Rose's mind was racing. He'd never mentioned that he'd kissed her. "I know. A bit flamboyant, but it worked." The Doctor said, oblivious to her distress. "WHAT?" Rose repeated herself, still in shock. Why hadn't he ever mentioned this to her? Had it not been that important to him? How could he not mention something so important?

Penelope Pov

"Gustavo!" Penelope knocked sharply on the door to the "Preparation Room." This was her second favorite room in the entire mansion (her bedchamber being her favorite.) It was where the Headz surgery took place. Gustavo Zimmerman was the man who'd invented the Headz and perfected the removal process. Penelope had hired him to be her personal head coordinator. He was the one who preformed the surgery each time she procured a new victim.

The Door creaked open and Gustavo peered out cautiously. "Penny darling!" His face lot up as he saw her standing there. Gustavo was the only person who could recognize her no matter what head she wore. "I told you not to call me Penny." She sneered at the sound of the word. She absolutely detested being called Penny. "Of course My Lady." Gustavo purred, "My sincerest apologies. Won't you come in?"

Penelope nodded and pushed past him into the room. "Is it ready?" She asked, referring to her red haired gem. The new jewel of her collection. Gustavo cleared his throat. "Not yet Madame. There have been a few setbacks." Penelope scowled at him. "What kind if setbacks?" She asked venomously. "The girl is stronger than anticipated. Her body fought against the conversion. We don't think she's completely human." Gustavo explained.

"What? How can that be? She looks so ordinary." Penelope wondered aloud. ""Well there are signs. Irregularities." Gustavo began. "Nothing that would prevent me from wearing the head I hope." Penelope interrupted. "No Madame. It's only her heart that's unusual." He informed her. "How so?" Penelope asked. "Well it seems that she has t-" Gustavo was cut off by an alarm blaring loudly.

Three burly security guards came running down the hallway. One of them stopped in front of the doorway to the preparation room. "What in the world is causing all this racket?" Penelope demanded. "There's a disturbance on the front lawn Miss. It appears to be some sort of riot."

Doctor POV

"Let me get this straight." Grace sounded extremely annoyed, although The Doctor couldn't imagine why. "You kissed this girl, and then you died, and you never mentioned it to her?" The Doctor frowned. "Never mentioned what?" He asked. "The Kiss!" Grace exclaimed. "I never said I didn't mention it to her." The Doctor said slowly. "Well...I just assumed." Grace said quietly.

"It's sort of obvious isn't it. Anyone in their right mind would've made their move if they'd known. Especially if you regenerated looking like you do now." The Doctor began to speak, but she cut him off. "I know you weren't really together because if the way you're talking about her. So much regret in your voice." Her voice had suddenly become very sad. "From the way you talk about her it sounds like you really loved her. The Doctor nodded sadly. "I did."

There re was a long pause before Grace spoke again. "Yes...but did she know that?" Something sounded off about her voice. It took The Doctor a moment to realize that it was because she was crying. Before he could ask her why a loud alarm began blaring. He could hear yelling coming from the lawn down below. "The riot's started." Grace said, still sniffling. "Grace..." The Doctor began. "Come on. Were on a schedule. Let's go get my body back."

**A/N: Contrary to popular belief I am not dead. I'm so so sorry that it's been so long since I posted a chapter. I've been terribly bust with school work an such. I've been waiting to post this chapter for months. A guest reviewer suggested that I write about Rose's reaction to The Doctor telling her about the kiss during "The Parting Of The Ways." I loved the idea and I'd ben waiting for the perfect moment to include it. **

**I hope you guys love the chapter. I made it extra long for you. Thanks for sticking with me for so long. You all are so supportive. Remember to read and Reveiw. **

**Stay Fantastic**


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**A/N- Honestly I meant to finish this chapter forever ago. My bad. Ita not as great as I'd want it to be, but since it's been forever I decided to get this over with quickly and move on to the part of the story I'm actually excited about. **

**Im really sorry that this story hasn't been updated in so long. Thank you to everyone who was so very patient with me. I hope you like it. **

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><p>Chapter Fifteen: In Which Rose Gets Help<p>

Doctor POV

It was surprisingly easy to sneak into the Lennon Estate. For such a large building it wasn't very heavily guarded. Of course most of the mansions security was out on the lawn dealing with the protestors. If a The Doctor listened closely enough he could hear chants of "Off with the Headz!" Coming from outside. It had been surprisingly easy to put together such a large protest at the last minute. It turned out that a large of Spaceship Hollywood was against the practice of Headz. All they'd had to do was give them a time and a place.

"Turn left up here." Grace instructed him. "We're going to get me back in my body. Then we can get those photos." The Doctor nodded. "We're looking for a door marked Preparation." Grace informed him. "It should be the third one on the right." The long corridor was completely empty. The Doctor's footsteps echoed on the marble floor. He found the door that Grace had indicated almost immediately. It stood out from all the other doors. It was the only metal door in the entire hallway. There was a keypad where a knob should've been, but all it took was a buzz from the sonic screwdriver to open it.

Inside was the room where Grace had been operated on. Her body was still laying on the operation table. One look at it made The Doctor blush bright red, for it was missing two very important aspects. A head and clothes. Grace seemed to sense his distress. "What's wrong?" She implored. The Doctor turned the GPS around so she could see. "Oh." Grace said quietly. The Doctor was sure she would've been blushing as well. If she'd had a face at the moment.

"I'm going to have to remove your chip from the GPS unit." The Doctor told her. He was trying to sound as professional as possible. "We won't be able to talk until you're safely back in your own body. If there's anything you need to tell me you should do it now." He explained. "Do you remember the plan." She asked him. "Of course I remember." He said defensively. "Okay then. I'll see you on the other side." Grace told him.

The Doctor quickly set to work. He was about to remove Grace's personality chip from inside the GPS when he heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Moments later the door was slammed open so forcefully that it actually flew off its hinges. "Well, well, well." Lady Penelope said as she stepped over the mangled remains of the door. "It looks like we've got a little intruder. You should've quit while you were ahead Doctor."

Rose POV

Rose was beginning to feel claustrophobic. Unlike the TARDIS the box she was in wasn't bigger on the inside. The screen to the outside world had helped, but now that screen had gone blank. It wouldn't be long until it disappeared completely. In fact, she could hear The Doctor tinkering away at it from inside her confines. The familiar buzz of the sonic screwdriver echoed through the otherwise silent room. Neither she or The Doctor spoke. She'd been disconnected from the GPS' speakers. Even if she did talk he wouldn't hear. He seemed too busy to talk to her.

Suddenly the sound of the sonic stopped. Rose listened intently, straining to hear even the faintest of noises coming from outside, afraid of some unknown danger that might befall The Doctor. Her fears were proved to be founded by the ear splitting crash that followed. She knew that someone must have rammed the door in. It would've had to be someone pretty strong if they'd managed to rip the metal door from its hinges. The few seconds of silence following the crash seemed like an eternity to Rose. If she'd had lungs to breath with she would've been holding her breath in anticipation. Then the sound of high heels clicking against the marble floor echoed about the room, and Rose knew they were done for. Penelope had found them.

"Well well well." Penelope's voice was lilting and beautiful. This fact only served to make Rose angrier. The old hag didn't deserve to be beautiful. "Looks like we've got a little intruder. You should've quit while you were ahead Doctor." The way she said The Doctor's name, harsh and angry all lilting beauty gone, made Rose's anger turn to terror. She was afraid of what this woman would do to her Doctor. "This has gone to far Penelope." The Doctor said. "What you've been doing is cruel and vicious and it needs to stop." This, for some reason, only served to make Penelope laugh. "I'm afraid you don't understand. I've found what I've been looking for. It's over now. All I need to do is dispose of you." From the way she said it Rose knew that "dispose of" really meant "kill". "What do you mean?" The Doctor asked. "Your pretty companion." Penelope explained, "Her head is exactly what I've been looking for."

Rose didn't have time to ponder what she meant by that, or become angry all over again, before Penelope was ordering someone (probably the same goon she'd brought to knock down the door) to "Grab him!" Almost immediately sounds of a struggle could be heard echoing about the room. "Run Doctor, Run!" Rose yelled. She couldn't see what was going on, and she knew he couldn't hear her, but she couldn't help herself. "You'll never get away with this Penelope!" The Doctor yelled. "Oh but I already have." Penelope told him. Rose flinched as she heard the unmistakable sound of someone being tackled. The Doctor had been caught "Take him to the family room. I'll deal with him in a moment." Penelope ordered.

"NO!" The Doctor yelled. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS." Penelope paid no mind to his frantic shouts. "DOCTOR!" Rose yelled frantically. She couldn't do anything to help him this time and it was killing her. "GRACE." The Doctor yelled. It was almost as if he'd heard her calling his name. Rose took little comfort in the fact. It sounded too much like how he'd yelled her name as she'd flown towards the void. Full of pain and terror. "Take him to the family room. I'll be there in a bit. I just have some last minute things to take care of." Penelope said. "Penelope please. You can't do this." The Doctor practically begged. "You can't take her from me." The heiress laughed, a sharp cruel barking laugh that contrasted greatly with what Rose had come to expect. "It's too late Doctor. Begging will get you nowhere."

Penelope's POV

Penelope watched as her bodyguard dragged the helpless Doctor out of the room. She was surprised at how quickly he'd given up fighting. Last time they'd had to drug him to keep him from hurting himself. Now he knew there was no chance of rescuing his friend he was much more cooperative. He must have broken in hoping to find some way to save her. Penelope had made sure there wasn't. The girl's personality chip, the only thing keeping her alive, had been destroyed. She'd given it to Gustavo, instructing him to destroy it ASAP. He wouldn't dare disobey her. Although, she did have a sneaking suspicion he was taking longer than needed to convert her newest finding into something wearable. He'd given her some pathetic excuse about the girl not being human. Something to do with her hearts, and her body rejecting the system. Penelope wanted to look for herself.

Her heels clicked against the marble of the floor as she walked over to the conversion station. The girl's body was laid out on the operation table. A screen next to her was displaying various scans of her. Her skeleton, her vitals, even her blood type. To Penelope's surprise all of the various maps and scans had one strange thing in common. The girl had two hearts. It should've been impossible. She looked human, but she must not be. A look at the scans revealed other differences. Average body temperature was much lower than that of a human, she had a much greater lung capacity, and brain capacity as well. "What are you my sweet?" Penelope asked the head sitting on a pedestal next to her. At the corner of the screen an alert popped up. Scan complete. Gustavo must have been scanning for something else when she'd interrupted him. She clicked on the small icon and a screen popped up. On the screen were four words that both intrigued her and scared her half to death.

Scan Complete: Species Unknown

"Interesting." Penelope murmured. "Very interesting." She closed the screen and turned to scan the rest of the room. "I've got a rouge alien to deal with." She said aloud. "But I'll be back." She exited the room, stepping carefully over the twisted metal slab that had once been a door. She failed to notice the one thing that didn't belong in the room. The GPS containing the personality chip she thought had been destroyed. The personality chip that held the consciousness of Rose Tyler.

Doctor POV

They'd chained him to a chair. It was certainly a step up from the wall he'd been chained to earlier, but he'd much rather not be chained at all. When Penelope had called this room The Family room he hadn't thought she'd meant it literally. The walls of the room were covered in paintings. The Doctor assumed they must be family portraits. A portrait of a woman and her three children hung above the fire place. The woman had bright green eyes and red hair just like the little girl in the picture, standing next to her was a teenage boy with dark brown hair and the same green eyes, she held a boy of about three in her arms. He had red hair like his mother, but his eyes were blue. There was no sign of a father anywhere.

Directly across the room from him was a portrait of a familiar looking blonde woman. The Doctor didn't quite know where he knew her face from. Before he could place it, however, Penelope came striding into the room. "Sorry for the wait Doctor. I was just reading some scans. Your little friend is quite interesting. Where'd you pick her up?" The Doctor frowned. He didn't understand why Penelope would be asking him this. What did it matter to her where Grace was from? "She's from Earth." He told her. "I don't see why it matters to you." The heiress smiled coldly at him. He couldn't keep staring into those cruel eyes. His gaze flickered back to the portrait on the wall. Where did he know that face from?

"Earth? I highly doubt that." Penelope said softly. Then louder so he could hear her "I see you've taken an interest in the paintings." She turned to look at the portrait that had captured his attention. "That's my cousin Cassandra. She's pretty, I suppose, although she could stand to lose some weight." The Doctor couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. "What in the world are you laughing about?" Penelope asked him, completely perplexed by his odd behavior. "It runs in the family!" The Doctor managed to gasp out between fits of laughter. "What does?" Penelope snapped. "Evil!" The Doctor exclaimed, bursting out into more laughter.

"My dear Doctor!" Penelope exclaimed. "Please do get ahold of yourself. I'm not evil. I'm simply driven, and willing to do whatever I want to reach my intended goals." She explained. "And what exactly are those goals?" The Doctor asked, straightening up. His fit of laughter had suddenly ceased. To Penelope he must have seemed quite mad, but the laughter had simply been a diversion. While he was squirming about in his chair he'd managed to retrieve his sonic screwdriver from his back pocket. "I needed a replacement. The perfect replacement." Penelope told him. "A replacement for what?" The Doctor asked her. "My head." Penelope said grimly.

"Your head?" The Doctor asked disbelievingly. "So you mean this entire time you've been trying to find a head to replace your own? Why?" Penelope frowned. "It's much more complicated than that. I couldn't use mine anymore. Not after what happened to me." She said. She turned and walked towards the fireplace. "I was such a beautiful child." She told him. She pointed to the picture hanging there, the one he'd examined earlier. The little girl smiling at him through the canvas. "That used to be me." The Doctor scoffed. "There is no way." Penelope looked offended. "It's true. I used to be so innocent. Then there was an incident and I was scarred for life, quite literally." She reached up and stroked the painted face of her younger self. Then' in one swift movement, she raked her fingernails across the canvas. A long jagged cut now marred the painted girl. "Nobody ever treated me the same again. They couldn't look past my face. To them I was a freak, a monster. After a while I began to believe them. They made me what I am today." She hissed.

"What does this have to do with Grace?" The Doctor asked. On the one hand he truly wanted to know, but really he was just stalling for time. He was having trouble finding the right setting on the sonic. "She's the answer to all my problems. You see the headz were never a permanent solution. Try as I might I could never find the perfect one to replace my own. They were synthetic and it just didn't feel right." Penelope explained. "So you started butchering girls to get real ones." The Doctor guessed.

"Exactly." Penelope said cheerfully. "And now I've found what I've been looking for. Grace's head is the perfect one. I'm going to have it no matter what." She promised. "Not if I stop you first." The Doctor warned her. "What can you do?" She asked him. "You're chained up here. Completely at my mercy." The Doctor shook his head, holding up his uncuffed wrists for her to see. "So sorry, but I'm afraid you're wrong." He told her. "It was lovely chatting with you, but I simply must run." He leapt from the chair and skidded form the room. Penelope recovered from her shock a second later, and ran after him. He could hear the click of her heels and angry screams coming from behind him, but he chose to ignore them. He had to get back to Grace.

Rose POV

Rose was finding it hard to hold onto hope. She'd always had a firm belief that no matter how hard things got The Doctor would always find his way back to her (or sometimes the other way around) So far that hypothesis had yet to be proven wrong, but right now it's boundaries were being pushed to the very limit. She just couldn't see a way out of this situation. Like it or not Rose was stuck. There was no way out for her. She might as well have been dead.

Like always help came when she least expected it, and from the last person she'd ever expect it to come from. The Doctor had only been gone for a few minutes when someone entered the room. She could tell it wasn't Penelope because they weren't wearing heels. Any one of her goons would've had heavier footfalls. This was someone Rose hadn't ever met before. She waited in anticipation as a figure walked into view. A man wearing a rather flamboyant pink shirt under a long white lab coat. He headed straight for the machines hooked up to Rose's lifeless body and began reading the same test results Penelope had been so interested in earlier.

Suddenly he whirled around with a dramatic "Ah ha!" and stalked towards the table where Rose was lying entrapped inside her chip. "I knew something was out of place." He muttered to himself, picking up the mess of cables, metal, and plastic that had formerly been a GPS. He flicked at the personality chip that had been wired into the device. "You're in there aren't you?" He said. "Grace is it? I don't know if you can hear me, but I am your friend. My name is Gustavo Zimmerman and I'm going to get you back into your own body."

It only took Gustavo a few minutes to remove the chip from the GPS and insert it back into its proper slot in the back of Rose's neck. As soon as the chip had been inserted the consciousness inside it flowed back into the brain. This caused Rose to black out for a few minutes. By the time she was reawakened her head was already back on her shoulders. "I'm afraid I don't have time for a total conversion right now." Gustavo told her. "I'll be able to remove the system completely at a later date, but right now you need to deliver this to your reporter friend" He said, dropping a small thumb drive into her hand.

Rose shook her head. "You can't order me around like that." She told him. "How am I supposed to know I can trust you?" Gustavo chuckled at this "I just got you back in your body didn't I?" He asked. "I'm the one who made sure your Doctor got that chip in the first place. I'm the one who's been saving all the chips. Most importantly I'm the one who isn't going to tell your friend about your little secret." Rose glared at him. "What secret?" She snapped. "You're not human. You don't want him to know. I don't know why, but I respect your judgement. Now go before it's too late." Gustavo said."What's going to happen to you?" Rose asked him. "I'll be fine." Gustavo promised her. "Now run."

Doctor POV

By the time The Doctor got back to the preparation room Grace was nowhere to be seen. Not only was the GPS missing, but her actual body was gone as well. The discovery of this fact sent The Doctor into a panic mode. "Grace!" He yelled. "Where is she. What have you done?" He screamed at the white walls. He knew he didn't have much time left before Penelope, or one of her goons, caught up to him. There would be hell to pay for escaping a second time.

He frantically searched every surface in the lab, hoping that somehow he'd just missed seeing the chip. He could hear footsteps running down the hall. He assumed they were Penelope's. In his frantic search he didn't notice that they were coming from the opposite direction. As his assumed pursuer entered the room he whirled around, launching himself at them. He hoped his surprise attack would buy him some escape time. He went tumbling to the ground, pinning Penelope under him.

"Ow! Doctor!" A muffled protest came from under him. To The Doctor's utter surprise it wasn't Penelope he'd tackled at all. "Grace!" He exclaimed. "You're alive! You're you! How-?" Grace cut him off by smothering him in a hug. "I thought I'd never see you again." She whispered. "Me too." He told her. "Now come on we've got to go." She ordered him. "I've got some photos to show the authorities." The Doctor stared at her in shock. "But how?" He repeated dumbly. "Doctor get up. You're squishing me." Grace told him. "We don't have much time." This snapped him out of his shock. "You're right. We need to get out of here, but you have a lot of explaining to do later." Grace grinned at him and nodded "Seems fair enough." She agreed.

Penelope POV

The Doctor was much quicker than Penelope had anticipated. She quickly lost him running through the sprawling halls of the mansion. She knew where he was headed though. He'd make a beeline back to the preparation room to try to rescue his little friend. She had to give him props for his determination. She would have been impressed at his skill in evading capture if it weren't so annoying.

"Lady Penelope!" Gustavo was running down the hallway towards her with a concerned look on his face. "I just saw The Doctor running down the hallway." He panted. Penelope rolled her eyes at him. "I'm aware of the fact Gustavo. I was pursuing him before you distracted me." She snapped. "I'm so sorry." Gustavo practically blubbered. "I had no idea." He grabbed her hand pulling her in the opposite direction from the preparation room. "He ran this way." Penelope slapped his hand off her arm. "You're lying. Why are you lying to me?" She hissed. "Nonsense." Gustavo said. "He went this way. We're going to lose him." He reached out for Penelope's arm again. She grabbed his wrist and squeezed until she hear bones cracking. "Don't touch me." She hissed. "There's some reason you don't want me to go to the preparation room. I'm going to find out why." Penelope stalked down the hallway leaving Gustavo behind to frantically chase after her.

Rose POV

"We need to find a way out of here without getting caught by Penelope." Rose said. "That might be easier said than done." The Doctor told her. "Last I checked she was angrily chasing me down that hallway." Rose swatted him on the arm. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked angrily. "I was busy focusing on the miraculous fact that you had your head back." He said defensively. "Don't worry. I've got a distraction." Rose said, sincerely hoping that Gustavo was being successful in distracting Penelope. "How do we get out?" She asked. "I don't know. You're the one with the map." The Doctor said. "You're the one with the plan!" Rose exclaimed. "I don't have the map anymore." The Doctor nodded, "Right. I think we came in this way." He said, pointing down the hallway to their left. "Let's go!"

Gustavo POV

"She's gone. Where did she go?" Penelope asked angrily. She'd returned to the preparation room to find both The Doctor, and the body of his little friend missing. "Her body was disposed of, like all the others," Gustavo stammered, "I assumed that's what you wanted. Now that the head is ready-" Penelope cut him off with a withering glare. "Where is it?" She asked. "Give it to me. I want to try it on." Gustavo nodded. Everything was going according to plan. "If you'll allow me to remove this head and insert your chip-"

"Yes! Yes," Penelope said impatiently. "Get on with it." Nodding, Gustavo reached up to detach her current head from her body. Then he carefully removed the chip from its spot in her neck. He set it aside, resisting the urge to crush it, and began preparing her next head. Of course it wasn't Grace's head she'd be wearing. He wanted everyone to see her true colors when she was punished for her crimes.

Rose POV

As Rose and The Doctor burst through the front doors of the mansion they were hit with a wave of front lawn of the Lennon estate was crowded with protestors, and the noise they were making was deafening. Almost instantly they were surrounded by a group of police officers. "Put your hands where I can see them!" One of the men ordered. Both Rose and The Doctor quickly out their hands up.

"Who are you and what business do you have breaking into Lady Lennon's house?" The man questioned. "I'm The Doctor, this is Grave Rhodes, and we have evidence that Lady Penelope has been illegally stealing the heads of young women." The Doctor told him. "Grace give him the drive." Grinning, Rose tossed the thumb drive in the man's direction. He caught it, examined it for a second, and then nodded. "You're coming with me." He ordered them.

Penelope POV

It was taking Gustavo an awfully long time with the heads. Penelope was beginning to get impatient. Whenever she was stuck without a head she was left alone with her thoughts. Penelope didn't like being left alopne with her thoughts. They tended to be not very nice. She was relieved when she finally felt the familiar sensation that came with her chip being reinserted.

It took her a while to get oriented, that was often the case with new systems. Her eyes had to adjust and so forth. She blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the light. To her annoyance the first thing she saw was Gustavo's annoying face. He was grinning smugly at her. "Does it feel good?" He asked. Penelope nodded. "Wonderful. I'm quite sure that this is the perfect head for you Penny darling. Do you want to see yourself?" She nodded again.

Grinning, Gustavo spun her chair around so she could see herself in the mirror. Instead of the beautiful face of Grace Rhodes, her own horribly scarred face stared back from her reflection. Gasping in horror Penelope jumped up from her chair and turned to face Gustavo. "What have you done?" She asked, horrified, "I'll kill you for this!" And she would have too, if at that X act moment the door to the preparation room hadn't slammed open, and police hadn't flooded in to arrest her.

She was till screaming bloody murder when they dragged her away.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter 16: In Which The Doctor is Suspicious

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><p>It had been nearly four hours since Lady Penelope's arrest. The police were busy investigating the possibilities of returning the missing women to their bodies and families. It turned out that Gustavo, Penelope's apparent right hand man, had been going behind her back and saving the discarded chips and bodies. He'd also taken pictures of every illegal operation. Without the thumb drive he'd given Grace they wouldn't have been able to arrest Lady Penelope.<p>

The Doctor was currently pacing back in forth in front of the fireplace in the Family room, waiting for Grace to come out of surgery.

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><p>He'd been questioned by the police three times. Having not only witnessed part of the illegal operation preformed on Grace, but also the murder of the maid Simone. They'd questioned Grace and wanted to question Gustavo too, but The Doctor had insisted he fix Grace first. Luckily for him Thomas had countless family members lined up to give their own personal testimonies. So Grace had been taken back to the perpetration room.<p>

"Doctor?" Grace's familiar voice came from behind him. He turned to face her so quickly that he almost tripped over his own feet. "Grace!" There she was, standing in the doorway of the family room, smiling at him. Her long red curls were down, framing her pale face, and her green eyes sparkled with happiness. She was wearing a pale green robe over her white hospital style gown. It was obvious she'd just come from surgery.

A surge of relief rushed over him at the sight of her. He'd been afraid to let her leave his side, fearing he'd loose her again. Without thinking he strode quickly toward her, as if his legs had got a mind of their own. She met him halfway, tackling him in a huge hug. He picked her up and spun her in a circle before setting her down quickly, afraid he might have hurt her. She laughed at the worry on his face and hugged him again.

He held her close to his chest, afraid to let go or else she might disappear. "I'm so, so sorry," He told her, "I almost got you killed again." It scared him how happy he was to see her again. How worried he'd been when she was gone. He'd barely known her for four days and he was already scared of losing her. There was just something about her, some familiarity, that drew him to her. She was a mystery to him. So many unanswered questions. Still, how had he become so attached already?

"It wasn't your fault," Grace whispered reassuringly, "It wasn't your fault." He realized she was shaking in his arms. "Are you okay?" He asked, pulling her back and holding her at arms length so he could get a better look at her. "I'm fine, just a little shaken up." She promised. There were tears welling up in her emerald eyes. The Doctor scowled at her disbelievingly. "Don't lie to me Grace Rhodes," He warned her.

"Okay, just don't get mad," She said, pushing the fabric of her robe aside to reveal the stitches in her neck. The skin around them was enflamed and red. "Gustavo says there's a 90% chance they won't scar." She said, avoiding his gaze. The Doctor reached up to touch the puckered skin, pulling his fingers away quickly when Grace hissed in pain, shying away from his touch.

"I have equipment in the TARDIS that should heal that right up for you." He told her. Grace shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea," She told him. "Grace...please. This whole thing is my fault. I knew I should've just dropped you off at home. I'm too dangerous. Just let me do this one thing for you before we say goodbye." He pleaded. Grace sighed "Okay."

* * *

><p>"Hold still Grace!" The Doctor scolded. "I can't help it," Rose whined, squirming away from The Doctor and his sonic screwdriver, "It tickles." The Doctor smirked at her. "That means it's working," He told her.<p>

As soon as they'd gone back to the TARDIS The Doctor had pulled Rose into the med bay, insisting upon healing the stitches in her neck. Although being in the med bay made her nervous, Rose knew that The Doctor blamed himself for what had happened to her, and that healing her wounds would make him feel less guilty about it. Still, she couldn't help being scared that with all the medical equipment he would somehow find out her secret.

"That should do it!" The Doctor announced, switching off his sonic and sticking it back in his coat pocket. He stared at her expectantly, his big brown eyes and proud expression made her heart melt. She was so busy staring at him she barely registered when he spoke to her.

"Sorry, what?" She asked. The Doctor rolled his eyes at her and repeated his question. "Do you want to see what you look like?" He asked. Rode nodded. Grinning, he hopped up and went to go find her a mirror.

Rose didn't like mirrors. Ever since her regeneration they were only a reminder of how much she had changed. She disliked the feeling of looking in the mirror and seeing a stranger there. Still, it felt nice to be back in her body. Prior to having her head removed her new body had felt awkward, she'd had to concentrate on every movement. This body had new rules, it reacted differently to things, and she'd felt like she had to relearn how to do everything. Now she felt right at home. It was still different, but she didn't have to think about every little action. It was strange how being separated from her body for so long had brought her closer to it overall.

Looking in the mirror was still a strange experience. The puckered scars on her neck were gone, much her relief, leaving only smooth, milky white skin. She ghosted her fingers across her neck, feeling the newly repaired skin. "I can't even tell there was ever anything wrong," she whispered.

The Doctor reached out, brushing her red curls away from her collar bone so he could see her neck. His soft touch made her shiver. "Good as new," he said softly, "Although...we should probably do some scans just to make sure."

Rose shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea," she told him.

"Nonsense!" The Doctor said, "Come on. One little scan can't hurt."

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><p>The Doctor was starting to get suspicious. Grace was hiding something from him. He'd been too worried about her safety to dwell on it too much, but now his curiosity was getting the better of him. She knew things about him that someone who'd just met him wouldn't, she was lying about working for Torchwood, and he was starting to suspect she wasn't even human. He didn't have much evidence, but something Lady Penelope had said about doubting he'd picked Grace up on earth, combined with how nervous she was to be scanned gave him cause to be suspicious.<p>

To top it all off the TARDIS was acting strange. He kept thinking he could hear her talking to someone, although there shouldn't be anyone else on the ship with the telepathic abilities to talk to her. The Doctor wanted answers. In order to get them he'd have to scan Grace. Unfortunately she was putting up a fight.

"Doctor I'm not going in that bloody machine!" Grace said, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head vigorously, sending red curls bouncing all about.

"There's nothing dangerous about it," The Doctor insisted, "Just your standard bio scan. Checking if anything is wrong."

he was trying to convince Grace to climb into the bio scanner for a quick scan. It was simple really. She'd lie down in the bed, he'd close the lid, and ten minutes later he'd have a complete scan of her entire system. Like a tanning bed, but significantly less of a risk of coming out all orangey.

"I don't care!" Grace snapped, "I just spent the majority of the past 48 hours stuck inside a tiny little room in my mind. The last thing I want to do if climb into an even smaller space. Even if it is perfectly safe." She glared at The Doctor, her green eyes intense and angry, as if she were daring him to cross her.

His hearts sank. Of course she wouldn't want to get into that blasted machine. He'd gotten swept up in his own curiosity, and had forgotten to consider Grace's own feelings. It was unfair of him to Lester her about this right now. "If it's the machine you're worried about I can fix it up so I can do the scan manually. It'll only I take a few minutes." He promised. Grace nodded, although she looked reluctant to do so. "Fantastic! You stay here. I'll get to work."

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><p>Rose was trying not to panic. If the Doctor scanned her then he was bound to discover her secret. She didn't know ho he would react, but she was convinced that he'd be mad at her. It was such a huge thing to keep from him. If it were her she would be furious.<p>

"You've gotta help me. Do something to stop him!" She whispered to the TARDIS. The ship seemed unhappy with her request. "I don't care if you think he should know. Just do something about it!" She snapped, slightly louder than she'd meant to.

"Did you say something?" The Doctor asked, looking up from his tinkering.

"Nope!" Rose said almost too quickly. "I didn't say anything. You must be hearing things."

"Must be." The Doctor said, sounding very unconvinced. "Anyway, I'm almost finished. Just a few minor adjustments and we'll be ready to-" Before he could finish speaking a loud clanging sound began to echo throughout the TARDIS. Rose recognized the sound of the cloister bell. A sound that meant they were in immediate danger. Rose wasn't sure if they actually were in danger or if it was just the TARDIS coming up with a distraction. She mentally thanked the ship anyway.

"Oh no no no! This is not good. This is very not good!" The Doctor said, dropping the wires he was tinkering with and running out of the medbay towards the control room. Rose followed close behind him. The lights in the cntrol room were flashing red. When Rose got there The Doctor was already running around the console frantically flipping switches and pulling levers.

"What's happening?" Rose asked, watching as the Doctor scrambled about the console. Before he could answer the TARDIS lurched sideways, sending Rose toppling into one of the coral struts. She regained her footing only to be sent careening back across the console room, slamming into the console. The air was knocked from her lungs. She didn't have time to do anything before she was thrown backward. There was a resounding crash and all the chaos ceased. Rose found herself sprawled out on the grating, the Doctor was laying on top of her.

"What just happened?" Rose asked breathlessly, painfully aware of how close The Doctor's face was to hers.

"I honestly have no idea," The Doctor told her. "But it appears that we've crashed somewhere. I'm not sure where. Want to find out?" He asked, grinning.

"Definitely." Rose said. The Doctor grinned, jumping to his feet, and offering her his hand to help her up. She took it, grinning, and let him pull her to her feet. He kept ahold of her hand as they hurried across the console room, pushing open the TARDIS doors and stepping out into the unknown.

* * *

><p>AN- The Doctor is starting to get suspicious. Lucky for Rose he's been distracted. I'm sorry this chapter was so short. It didn't really fit in anywhere else. I promise there will be more action in the next one.

I wanna thank all 250 something of you who read the last chapter, and give a huge shoutout to the five of you who reviewed. You're all officially my favorites.

As always remember to read and review. I love hearing from you guys. Tell me what kind of obstacles you want to see The Doctor and Rose facing in the next few chapters.

-Eva


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